The Torah in Parashat Sav (Vayikra 7:19) commands that if sacrificial food came in contact with a source of Tum’a (impurity), that food is forbidden for consumption.
The Sefer Ha’hinuch explains that this command is intended to maintain our respect and reverence for the sacrifices. By demanding that we eat sacrificial food only if it is in a state of purity – and if we ourselves are in a state of purity – the Torah ensures that we regard the sacrifices as special and sacred.
This command is binding upon both men and women. One who eats a Ke’zayit of sacrificial meat which had become Tameh on the level of Torah law receives Malkut. If the meat had contracted a type of Tum’a which was decreed by the Sages, then he receives “Makat Mardut” – lashes for violating the enactments of the Rabbis.