>Question: Does anyone know what lactylate is? I have seen it on >products marked with a parve hechsher. Is it dairy or not? It can come from both dairy and non-dairy sources. If it's in a product with a reliable parve hechsher you can probably safely assume that it's from a non-dairy source, but depending upon the severity of your son's reactions you may wish to call the company to confirm that. I've been told that sodium stearoyl lactylate is a fat-based ingredient that is not normally made from milk, but I don't have a source to back that up. This is from http://www.kashrus.org/kosher/chem.html: Calcium Sterol Lactylate Source: milk or soybeans. Use: instant mashed potatoes. Requires kosher supervision. Calcium Stearoyl Lactylate Source: chemical reaction of stearic acid and lactic acid. Use: as a dough conditioner, whipping agent and as a conditioner in dehydrated potatoes. Requires kosher supervision Stearyl Lactylic Acid Source: fats and oils. Use: emulsifier. Requires Kosher supervision. (Kosher forms are often dairy.) Stearic Acid Source: animal or vegetable oil. Use: in butter and vanilla flavoring, softener in chewing gum. Requires Kosher supervision. Lactic Acid Sources: molasses, corn starch, glucose, molasses. Use: preservative, flavoring. (Lactic acid can also be produced from whey, in which case it is dairy, but its use is restricted to ice cream and cream cheese). Kosher, Pareve without supervision. Hope this helps, --Robyn