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 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.

What is Gelatin?

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

What Is a Cataract?

A cataract occurs when the eye’s lens becomes cloudy, leading to blurred vision and visual loss. Cataracts are more common in older people. Surgical procedures are typically required to treat cataracts.

The researchers say in a news release that about 21 million Americans suffer from at least one cataract, and that this number will increase to 30 million by 2020 as the baby boom generation continues to age.

The researchers write that their study is the first to describe cataract risk in relation to a vegetarian diet.

Vegetarian and Cataract

People who eat meat may be at increased risk of developing cataracts compared to vegetarians, a new study shows.

Researchers at the University of Oxford in England say vegetarians and vegans are 30% to 40% less likely to develop cataracts than people who eat a lot of meat.

Other factors, such as smoking, diabetes, and exposure to bright sunlight, also have been linked to greater risk of cataracts.

Researchers studied data on 27,670 people participating in the European Prospective Investigation in Cancer and Nutrition study. The participants in the study, all older than 40, were asked to fill out dietary surveys between 1993 and 1999. They were checked on between 2008 and 2009 to see if they had developed cataracts; about 1,500 had developed cataracts.

The participants were divided into groups according to the amount of meat they ate:

Highest meat consumption: 3.5 ounces or more a day.

Mid-range meat consumption: 1.7 to 3.4 ounces a day.

Low-meat consumption: less than 1.7 ounces a day.

Fish eaters: Those who ate fish but not meat.

Vegetarians: Those who did not eat meat or fish but did eat dairy products and/or eggs.

Vegans: Those who did not eat meat, fish, dairy products, or eggs.

Compared with those who ate the most meat, the risks for developing cataracts were lower for all other groups. Mid-range meat eaters had a decreased cataract risk of 4%, low-meat eaters 15%, fish eaters 21%, vegetarians 30%, and vegans 40%.

The researchers found that the progressive decrease in cataract risk was seen for both men and women but appeared to be confined to participants 65 and older at recruitment.