think about this next time you eat!

you are what you eat.

As the saying goes: "You are what you eat". This is fine if you are aware of what you are eating. However, many people would be quite surprised if they knew what they were really eating. Most mystery ingredients in food come under the category of "food additives". Long ago, the Health Department established as law that certain amounts of contaminants are acceptable in government-approved food products. In frozen broccoli, for instance, the fact that up to 60 aphids, thrips or mites are allowed is considered to be one of the concessions we make in our industrial society in order to enjoy the convenience of prepared foods. The fact that shellac, a high gloss glaze derived from the female lac insect is used under the innocent name of "resinous glaze" is a prime example of the general public's lack of knowledge concerning the source and origin of many food additives.

The ingredients "carmine" or "cochineal", which is the current favoured choice for red colouring in many foods, is but another example of how insects are legally finding their way into many common and popular food products. When it comes to flavourings, it has long been the industry's policy to mask the true nature of the additive under the generic term "natural flavouring". This sounds very gentle and downright healthy. However, using the example of the flavouring "ambergris", we learn that the source of this additive is from the sperm whale. Yet another such example is "civet absolute", which is derived from the civet cat. These additives are offered to the unsuspecting consumer as "natural flavours", which of course, they actually are! Such broad definitions allow for a typical breakfast of coffee, tomato juice, cereal and toast to possibly include the following legal hidden ingredients: coffee beans: up to 10% can be insect infested; tomato juice: up to 10 fly eggs per 100 grams; cereal: up to 9 milligrams of rodent excreta and 50 insect fragments per 50 grams; non-dairy creamer: casein - a milk derived product; "natural or artificial" flavouring: could be from literally hundreds of sources including animal, vegetable or synthetic.

Some people may feel annoyed, or even downright angry at discovering the truths of these hidden ingredients. However, to some, this lack of disclosure can even be lethal and life threatening. A typical non-dairy creamer and non-dairy dessert topping lists "casein" in the ingredients, which is a milk derived sugar. Similarly, many tuna manufacturers fail to reveal on their labels the fact that one of the ingredients, "hydrolysed" vegetable protein, is often derived from whey, another dairy product. Imagine a person who is hyper-allergic to any dairy product. Such a person could innocently purchase such products and unsuspecting, suffer a life threatening allergic reaction to this supposedly "non-dairy" product and the deadly "hidden" ingredients in them. How can allergy sufferers avoid such a terrifying scenario? Barring extensive research into each and every item in the supermarket, there is another alternative. The Kosher laws as they are written require full disclosure on the package in some form. Hence, if the hydrolysed vegetable protein in a can of tuna is from a dairy derivative, or the non-dairy creamer contains traces of a dairy-based source, the kosher symbol on the label will be followed by a "d". This indicates, to the veteran kosher consumer who is familiar with the interpretation of such labels, that there is in fact a dairy derivative in this product, giving it a dairy status.

All products under kosher supervision are inspected on a regular basis to determine all aspects of each and every ingredient in that product, as well as the machinery used in the production of that product. If the machinery is dairy, often the product will be labelled "DE" indicating dairy equipment. In an article written by Gini Kopecky and printed in "Family Circle" magazine (9/28/94), Dr. Hugh Sampson of the Paediatric allergy and immunology division at Baltimore's Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine is mentioned as having found that a harmless can of tuna, which was not clearly labelled as containing dairy derivatives, had threatened the life of a young 3 year old boy, who was hyper-allergic to any dairy products. Unknown to the parents, this can of tuna contained a dairy-based ingredient.

As ingredients become more and more complex and obscure, we propose that the Health Department and food manufacturers learn from the kosher supervisory industry how to better provide full disclosure of each ingredient to the general public. It is surprising then, that close to 10,000 products and ingredients in the U.K. today are certified kosher. The end result is that millions of people from all religions and walks of life are looking to kosher certified foods as the only real guarantee as to the true nature of what they are eating. No hidden ingredients, no surprises. For the benefit of children and adults, for whom these food additive disclosures can be the difference between health and illness, life and death, it is not surprising that major food companies are rushing to obtain kosher supervision for products that qualify. Clearly, the kosher consumer can not rely on merely reading the ingredients. It is also prudent for many more people in this country to learn more about kosher food symbols and how to look for them and understand them. An educated consumer stands the best chance of remaining a healthy one!