Topic started by Ram (@ 205.177.170.94) on Wed May 1 14:05:52 .
All times in EST +10:30 for IST.

Here is a mail that I received from Yoplait Consumer Services.

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Dear R***** R*******:

Thank you for contacting Yoplait-Colombo. We appreciate your interest in the kosher status of Yoplait Yogurt. Whenever feasible, General Mills complies with manufacturing requirements for kosher certification. The gelatin would come from a beef source.

Rabbi Leonard Bronstein has certified our yogurt products as K-Dairy. If you would like further information regarding the kosher status of the yogurt, please contact:


Rabbi Leonard Bronstein
625 Gramatan Ave 3P
Fleetwood, NY 10528
914-668-8782

We hope this information is helpful and that you will continue to use and enjoy our products.

Sincerely,

Vanessa Penns
Consumer Services

>Original Message From: festivista97@yahoo.com
>
>Hi, I have a clarification. Are your yoghurt products 100% vegetarian ?I read that, "The gelatin used in our yogurt is derived from select beef hide trimmings."Does this mean the manufacture of Yoghurt involves killing cows ?Please clarify.Much Thanks,RR.
---------------------------


Question - Is Yogurt sold in US a vegetarian item ?
Answer - NO.

How is it ?

Responses:

• From: pradheep (@ ns1.genetic-id.com) on: Wed May 1 16:23:34
  
  About 65 % of the world-wide produced gelatin comes from hidesplits, connective tissue and the bones of cattle. Otherwise pigs serve for source material. Only in Australia, South Africa and New Zealand also sheep are used. The quality of the gelatin is influenced by the source of supply, which in Europe traditionally is mainly from pigs in the case of gelatin for food and medicaments.
  
  
  The raw material for gelatin manufacture is the naturally occurring protein collagen, which is commercially sourced from the meat industries. Each stage of the manufacturing process is rigorously controlled in modern laboratories to ensure purity and quality. The process of converting collagen into gelatin involves several cleansing and purification steps and the end result is a pale yellow dry powder which is a true foodstuff.
  
  Gelatin contains
  
  84-90% protein
  1-2% mineral salts
  8-15% water
  
  
  
  Yogurt is a highly nutritious food that is tasty, easy to obtain and transport. However, this cup of yogurt is not a simple product. Manufacturers adjust the ingredients to make a creamy product and to control the calorie content.
  
  There has been a recent alert on Kashrut.com regarding the withdrawal of certification by the OU on some yogurt products because of the reformulation of the products to include gelatin. Gelatin serves a number of useful functions in a yogurt product. It forms a creamier product and keeps the fruit suspended in the yogurt. It also serves as a bulking agent, reducing the calorie content, by replacing the yogurt with water. Non-fat yogurt has 130 calories per 8 oz. without any sweeteners. To get 100-calorie yogurt, less yogurt is used.
  
  Unfortunately there are a number of kashrus issues in the use of gelatin. Gelatin, is by definition an animal product. The gelatin used in current yogurt products is produced from pork or non-kosher slaughtered beef. Since there are rabbis who give kosher certification to these gelatins and the products produced from them, manufacturers call this gelatin "kosher" gelatin and put a "K" on the products. The major certifying agencies do not consider this gelatin to be kosher A detailed summary can be found on the Star-K.
  
  Another set of controversial ingredients is natural colorings. It is advantageous for manufacturers to use natural colorings to avoid listing artificial colors on the label. Two natural colors with kashrus concerns are carmine and grape. Carmine is derived from the insect coccus cacti. Wine and grape products require special handling procedures. Grape derived colors when available are more expensive. Other natural colors require kosher certification because of the processing necessary to produce these products.
  
  Other kashrus concerns with yogurts include natural flavorings and processing conditions. Natural flavorings can come from both kosher and non-kosher sources. Food processed on equipment where non-kosher products were processed may also be not-kosher due to processing conditions.
  
  Be aware of what is in the food that you eat.
  
  
  http://www.kashrut.com/articles/Yogurt/
  
  
• From: Anonymous (@ ) on: Thu Feb 26 05:54:40
  
  Hello, I don't have a response. However, I do have a question. I've been searching forever to find out what the gelatin in mountain dairy yogurt is made of. Most gelatin is made out of pork. But does anyone know exactly what is made out of the gelatin in mountain dairy yogurt? It would really help me out.
  
  
• From: nifty07 (@ 4.10.134.138) on: Thu Feb 26 05:57:06 EST 2004
  
  Please reply to me at my email address. By the way, I'm the person asking the question about what's in the mountain dairy gelatin. Reply to nifty07@hotmail.com
  
  
• From: very concerned user (@ d57-34-37.home.cgocable.net) on: Mon Apr 19 17:17:47
  
  does source yougurt made by yoplait contain gelatin from a cow or a pig?????pls reply as soon as possible.
  
  
• From: Sheela (@ host81-152-242-50.range81-152.btcentralplus.com) on: Tue Apr 20 22:07:17 EDT 2004
  
  Does this mean that the yougurt we make in Indian households do not contain Gelatin as opposed to commercially available ones since it hasn't been processed to adjust calorie levels (instead we use a little spoonful from the previous days yougurt and add to milk, no gelatin is added but does it form in this process?) ??
  
  
• From: thankful (@ 156-37.suscom-maine.net) on: Sun May 16 18:56:27
  
  This really helped me alot for a report that i was working on.
  
  
• From: Raghu (@ 193.129.245.198) on: Tue May 18 12:23:26 EDT 2004
  
  Hi all,
  
  I am a vegetarian, the yogurt, produced in UK clearly states ' Suitable for vegetarians', that is y I buy them, they better be right!!!
  
  

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