K A S H R U T . C O M_©

The following is a response to British News Stories from the London Beth Din on May 14, 2007.

"Articles have recently appeared in the national press concerning the use of whey derived from animal rennet in Masterfoods confectionery. We have been aware for many years that whey can be a by product of cheese-making and that, even today, animal rennet can be used in cheese manufacture. Since whey derived from this source contains only trace amounts of rennet, it is permitted according to halacha. There is therefore no problem with any of the Masterfoods products that are currently on the London Beth Din approved list.";
To access the Kosher Product List go to www.theUS.org.uk.

The following is a response from the OU to questions received based on British news stories posted on May 17, 2007.

Recent news reports have indicated that various Masterfoods/ Mars products produced in Europe were reformulated to contain Animal Rennet. This change does not affect any of the Masterfoods/ Mars products produced in the USA and Canada under OU certification (ed. note: these products bear an OU or OU-D symbol).

The following notice was received from Kosher Austraila on May 24, 2007.
Please note that Masterfoods/Mars products in Australia/New Zealand are kosher certified by Kosher Australia and do not contain any animal rennet derived whey powder.