Hidden Ingredients

Cochineal: insects used for food coloring (source)In today's world, food production has become extremely complex. Just one century ago, it would have been likely that most of the ingredients in the food you ate would have been produced by people you knew personally. Today, in one packaged product, dozens of ingredients appear that might have originated literally across the planet. In order for foods to endure packaging, shipping, and storage, chemicals and additives have to be added to the food such as emulsifiers and preservatives. Factories add colors and flavors to the food to increase its taste and visual appeal. Some additives are used to streamline the production process or decrease costs. To some extent, the U.S. government requires that ingredients be listed, but in many cases, ingredients may be omitted from the list. Others are hidden behind deceptively worded ingredient names or general categories such as "natural flavors."

The list of problematic ingredients in food is incredibly long and cannot be reproduced here, but here is a sample of a few issues:

• Carmine (also called cochineal) is a red food color derived from insects, found in many items, including fruit juices, baked goods, spices, and meat.
• Gelatin, a well-known gelling agent, comes from animal hides, bones, or hooves, and is found in items such as yogurt, marshmallows, jams, margarine, and ice cream.
• Anti-caking agents are often made from animal fats, and they are found in spice powders and blends.
• Glycerides are often made from animal fats, and they are found in sauces, dressings and ice creams.
• Many natural flavorings are derived from animal products such as extracts from beaver, cat, or deer glands.
• Aside from ingredients in the food, in many cases it is necessary to use food-grade oils for lubrication of machinery in food-processing plants. Food grade oil is necessary specifically because the oils may come in contact with the food. Many of these food grade oils come from animals. For example, sperm [whale] oil is used on bakery pans.1

The world of food production has changed dramatically. It is now impossible to keep a biblical kosher standard simply by reading labels. There are simply too many factors involved in food production.

Cheese

Cheesy Snack Foods: could very well contain pork enzymesCheese is another great example of a product that would seem perfectly kosher, but could very well pose a problem. Of course, added flavors, colors, anti-caking agents, preservatives, and additives that modify the texture of the cheese raise concerns. However, an essential ingredient in cheese is the complex of enzymes known as rennet, which is added in order to coagulate the milk. Rennet is traditionally derived from the stomach lining of calves, but pig enzymes can also be used. One online source quotes Ellen Schwarzbach, a representative from Kraft General Foods, Inc., as saying:

The most common method of coagulating milk is by the use of an enzyme preparation, rennet, which traditionally was made from the stomachs of veal calves. Since the consumption of calves for veal has not kept pace with the demand for rennet in the preparation of cheese, a distinct shortage of this enzyme has developed. Consequently, a few years ago it became a common practice to mix the rennet extract from calves' stomachs with a pepsin enzyme derived primarily from the stomachs of swine. These enzymes convert the fluid milk into a semi-solid mass as one of the steps in the manufacture of cheese. This mixture of calf rennet and pepsin extract is quite commonly and widely used within the United States.2

(Note, however, that the representative goes on to say that certain cheeses produced by Kraft use microbial enzymes, rather than animal rennet.)

Cheese is also a common ingredient and flavoring in other foods. Frito-Lay, a major snack food manufacturer, indicates on their web site:

Pork enzymes may be used in the milk that makes the real cheese for some of our cheese seasonings.3

Thankfully, the Frito-Lay web site provides a list of products that do not contain pork enzymes, and it also provides lists of their kosher-certified products, which also would not contain any pork products.

It is becoming more common to use microbial sources for the rennet, which could alleviate some concerns. But Jewish law does not prohibit the use of animal rennet, as long as it is derived from a kosher animal that is properly slaughtered.4

Kosher Certification

The best way, then, to ensure that the food that one eats is kosher is to purchase only products that have a certifying mark from a kosher supervision agency. These symbols are ubiquitous, and can be found on just about any type of food that can possibly be kosher.

A kosher certification symbol is called a hechsher. Hechshers are symbols that represent agencies that conduct kosher supervision. A mashgiach is an expert trained in kosher law who inspects and supervises food production to ensure that it meets the proper standards. He will check all ingredients and processes to make sure that the food qualifies. If it does, the manufacturer will be allowed to place a hechsher on the product label. It is unlawful to place a hechsher on a label without approval, since it is a trademarked logo owned by the particular certifying agency.

Each agency might have their own standards and leniencies. For this reason, it is important to choose only reliable, recognized hechshers.

Years ago, a simple letter K was often used to indicate that an item was kosher. However, a plain K cannot be trademarked, so there is nothing to prevent manufacturers from using it on their labels without any approval whatsoever. Therefore, today, a plain K no longer can be trusted as a kosher symbol.

The two most well known and respected kosher symbols are and . However, there are numerous other hechshers that are equally reliable. The hechshers available vary regionally.

1. 1. Code of Federal Regulations, Title 21, Volume 3 http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/cfr_2005/aprqtr/pdf/21cfr173.280.pdf
2. 2. Sally Clinton, What's In Your Cheese? http://www.natural-connection.com/resource/tnc_reference_library/cheese....
3. 3. Seasoned Products Made Without Porcine Enzymes, http://www.fritolay.com/your-health/seasoned-products-made-without-porci...
4. 4. It should also be noted that as a precaution, Jewish law additionally requires that the production of certain types of cheese be supervised by observant Jews in order for it to qualify as kosher.