On Mon, 30 Apr 2001 14:15:00 -0400, Robyn Kozierok <[log in to unmask]>
wrote:

} Hi,
} 
} I was on this mailing list several years ago.  At that time I wrote a
} FAQ explaining what pareve meant and how to find pareve foods when shopping.
} Recently Michael Lizzi has pointed out to me that I overstated the degree
} of protection a pareve hechsher provides -- a food certified as pareve
} may contain tiny amounts of cross-contamination with dairy products.
} I emailed the Orthodox Union, the people who put the OU hechsher on items
} and they confirmed that a pareve item may be produced on equipment that
} has been used for dairy if it is "thoroughly cleaned" in between.  This
} satisfies the Jewish kashrut laws, but may not be sufficient for someone
} with a very serious, very sensitive allergy.  I will be changing the FAQ
} shortly to reflect this, but I did want to give a heads-up here.

Before you change the FAQ, ask them what procedures satisfy the
"thoroughly cleaned" conditions.  While it is feasible to "convert" home
cooking dishes from diary to non-diary, I am sure that it is not the
case with commercial product lines - too long and costly.

Have fun,
Alex.