Kosher foods are broken down into 3 classes. Meat, Dairy, and Pareve. Pareve means not either meat or milk. Pareve elements, such as vegetables may be used with either meat or dairy. Food products cannot be otherwise mixed at any stage of preparation or service. Most kosher kitchens have only two sets of pots, pans, and utensils, as any pareve ingredients will be used with either dairy or meat dishes.
There are hundreds of kashrut supervision organizations, and complete and accurate listings are rare. If you are interested in finding out if a specific product is kosher, the best way is to call the manufacturer, (most have 800 numbers), and ask. As an extra service to the observant community, please also ask for a copy of the certification. They will be glad to mail or fax the document.
Asking for the certification helps the observant community by showing the manufacturers that there relaly are people who only buy kosher. There is much more and if you have any more questions, I will be glad to answer any and all.
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