Friends,
Recently, New Morning Naturals, maker of some great products for the
milk(and wheat) allergic, such as Oatios and Fruiteos and some other
cereals and crackers has lost its Parve status...their products now
carry a dairy OU hechsher.  I called the company and asked how that
change came about and how it would impact a severe milk allergic child.
The answer I received was that the product was made on non-dairy lines
and that there was no  possibility of cross contamination.  The woman on
the phone told me that they lost the parve hechsher because there was
dairy in another section of the plant.  This is not the way I understand
the parve designation, but she seemed sure, so I let my son eat the
cereal from the new box.  Diarrhea the next day, but not severe.
Coincidience?  I don't know, but we have found different cereals by US
Mills that still carry parve hechsher and seem relatively free of the
usual poisons found in breakfast cereal.  Not as good as New Morning,
though.  It is so sad when we lose an old dependable product, isn't it?
I have also noticed that our local store's house brand of ice cream
cones that used to be OUparve now carries no hechsher.  It had been so
nice to include Aaron in a hot summer night treat...Rice Dream or
Tofutti in a cone...that seemed exactly like what the rest of us were
enjoying.  Oh well.
Dale Robin Lockman