>I thought I understood the Kosher markings on food. Would someone please
>explain
>what, exactly the circle-U, letter D and word Pareve mean (I thought that the
>circle-U indicated Kosher, the letter D indicates presence of diary and
>the word
>pareve 'guarantees' no dairy, but my Low-Fat Blue Bonnet margarine has the
>letter D
>after the circle-U even though I cannot find any hint of any diary in the
>ingredient
>list. The regular Blue Bonnet margarine has the letter D and clearly lists
>milk as
>an ingredient).

Check out
                http://www.ou.org/kosher/primer.html

The "D" does not mean that the food necessarily has any dairy ingredients
in it - only that it may, or that it has somehow been exposed to equipment
that has had milk in it.Sometimes you'll see a DE instead of a D, to
indicate that, while there are no dairy ingredients, it was made using
dairy equipment. When something is labeled Kosher(U-O) pareve, there are
strict laws regarding the separation. And for those who follow strict laws
of Kashrut, the difference between D and DE is academic - any contact with
milk or meat makes it non-pareve, and any contact with milk makes it Dairy.

>
>Also, are there any FDA regulations regarding ingredient lists? This is really
>frustrating, and I think the recent truth-in-food-labelling laws have
>affected the answer, so please limit your responses to recent news, not the
>'20 years ago it meant...' stuff. Thanks!!!

Join the crowd. While the laws require the label to disclose the
ingredients, there are no laws, other than those of Kashrut, that require
the labeling of possible contaminants. If you can tolerate trace amounts,
you're fine. If not, you've got to do what the rest of us do and contact
the manufacturer about the potential for trace amounts to be present, and
trust that they're telling you the truth.  That's why we always keep a few
Epipens around - we trust, but we're prepared anyway.

There are a few things that we've learned, too: if a manufacturer makes
both dairy and non-dairy items or items with and without nuts, we assume,
unless we're told otherwise, that there is a chance that the foods will be
contaminated. The Pareve label helps, but not with nuts.

Fortunately, there are liability concerns that have driven some companies
to disclose the possibility of contamination with nuts on their packaging.
But, as you've experienced, there's no real way to guarantee that anything
we eat is completely safe.

>
>1) milk products. I've noticed recent changes on packaging to more clearly
>indicate when milk products are present. For example, I recently saw a
>package with ingredient list containing 'natural flavorings (including milk)'.
>I was thrilled that they specified it, but wonder if it's required now.

I believe that this is in response to a fear of liability, and not a direct
result of labeling regulations.
>
>2) spices. What are the restrictions for what they can place under this
>category?
>My son is allergic to basil or bay leaves (we haven't figured out which),
>so the
>generic 'spices' bothers me.  Frequently, I see 'spices (basil, oregano)', but
>other times I just see spices.  Since this is not technically a no-milk topic,
>feel free to answer this one off-line.

Sigh - it's all part of the same problem. It's what has led us to be a
non-convenience-food household. It makes for a lot more work, but gives us
greater
peace of mind with regard to  our child's safety. And when we slip, we are
eventually slapped back into submission.

>
>3) natural flavorings. What are the restrictions for what they can place
>under this
>category? Can it include milk UNDER THE NEW LAWS without being specified?
>

The way I understand it, not as an ingredient, but as a possible contaminant.


Mark Feblowitz                  GTE Laboratories Incorporated
[log in to unmask]              40 Sylvan Road, Waltham, MA 02154-1120