datrco wrote:
>
> Dawn,
> You mentioned that Tropical Source choc. chips are not 100% dairy free.
> Are they run on a dairy line, or does one of the ingredients contain some
> casein?  This is a big concern for me as I have been using them for about
> a year for my son who is on a gluten free/casein free diet.  Please let
> me know what you have found out.  Also, does anyone happen to know of a
> choc. chip that is casein free?
>
> Thanks,
> Trish Mears
At Whole Foods, a label has been added (by whom, I do not know) to all
the Tropical Source products that I saw which claimed "98% dairy-free"
so I consider them unsafe.  I bought Paskesz Chocolate Chips marked
Kosher Pareve at a Kosher Grocery Store.  I was told by a woman at the
store that Trader Joes sells chocolate chips also marked kosher pareve
that are less expensive.  I just haven't gotten by there yet.  Whole
Foods had a bin of malt-sweetened chocolate chips which they claimed
were OK.  Rebecca had no reaction (but she is not extremely allergic),
but I thought they tasted awful.

Thanks for the recommendation here to search the web for "KASHRUTH".
This led me to the Kosher Restaurant Database
(http://www.shamash.org/kosher/krestquery.html).  I was lucky enough to
find a market that is not to far away (it serves sandwiches so showed up
on the restaurant database).

The fact that Blue Bonnet margarine had dairy product that only showed
up on the label as "artificial flavor" has made me very leery about
labels.  Also, I had been using Ghiradelli semi-sweet chocolate chips
since the label looked OK only to see it marked Kosher D (I can't
remember whether it was a K or a OU).  The same was true for Hershey's
Chocolate Syrup.  So now I am flummoxed about how to use labels if there
are not Kosher symbols.  I am especially concerned about artificial
flavor.

Does anyone know whether popsicles are safe?  Also, some juices and
juice concentrates list natural and/or artificial flavor.  How
confortable should I be using them?  If popsicles are not safe (but
juices are), does anyone have a suggestion for good juices to freeser to
make "freeser pops".  I know from experience that apple juice does not
work.  (Actually, I would like this information even if popsicles are
safe.)

I have found Nucoa margarine at my local grocery store, Canoleo at Whole
Foods, and Mother's unsalted margarine at the Kosher market.  I love the
taste of Canoleo.  Nucoa is not at all bad (and comes as both tub and
stick which is convenient).  I have yet to try the Mother's.  Thanks for
the recommendations!

Cheers, Katie Addison ([log in to unmask])