Qdoba Mexican Grill

I love Qdoab's! Its one of the few fast food places where you can still eat fresh and healthy. A while back I inquired about their cheese:

ME: It would be nice to have ingredients listed. For example, I have been trying to find the ingredients for your cheese. I would like to know if its kosher or not? If not, does it have microbial enzymes or animal enzymes? The manager at the Qdoba tried to find out for me, but was unable to...

QDOBA on Tue, 19 Apr 2005:

Hi, You will find an ingredient list on our website, www.qdoba.com. Click on the menu link, then Nutrition and then on the Allergen link. You will be able to see an ingredient list for all our products. All of Dairy Farmers of America's plants use a Microbial Rennet rather than an Animal Rennet, therefore, there should be no risk or concern for the consumer in regard to animal enzymes, as all of our enzymes would bemicrobial for all of our cheese products." Hope this helps!

COMMENTS: If this is true, it is wonderful news. I have been trying to verify. If someone else can confirm or deny, please contact me.

Pork in Olive Garden's Meat Sauce

For those of you eating non-zabiha meat while dining out, you should know that Olive Garden uses pork in their meat sauce.

From the FAQ's:

Does Olive Garden use pork in its recipes?

Pork is primarily used as a flavor enhancer and traditionally is a common ingredient in Italian cooking. Pork is included in our meat sauce. With some advance notice, our managers would be happy to accommodate your diet by specially making a ground beef meat sauce to accompany your choice of pasta.

Link: http://www.olivegarden.com/company/contact_us/faq.asp#use_pork

Cheese!

I love cheese! I occasionally contact companies to see if their cheeses are ok. Recently while researching a lead on the source of rennet in american-made cheeses, I stumbled across a treasure chest of halal cheeses! Most of these are through company websites, unless otherwise stated

Bel Gioioso

Recently added kosher and or vegetarian selections:

CreamyGorg®
Crema di MascarponeTM
Fresh Mozzarella
Fontina
Mascarpone
Ricotta con Latte®
Italico TM
Tiramisu Mascarpone
Vegetarian Parmesan

http://www.belgioioso.com/Products.htm

Cabot Cheese (Vermont)/American Heritage

The company website states, "Cabot utilizes vegetable-based rennet to manufacture its award-winning cheeses. The American Vegetarian Society approves Cabot’s rennet and our Cabot cheeses are certified kosher."

One exception is the Cabot organic cheddar which is NOT ok. If someone calls the company to get up-to-date information, please contact me!

Link to the company website:

http://www.cabotcheese.com/

Tillamook Cheese

This is my favorite by far! They are fresher, creamier, tastier and from the Northwest!

Their website states, "We use the microbial/vegetable-based rennet (which has Kosher and Halal certification, and is approved for vegetarian products) to make all Tillamook cheese, with the exception of Tillamook Vintage White Medium Cheddar and Vintage White Extra Sharp Cheddar Cheeses. Our unique flavor profile of Tillamook Vintage White is a result of using traditional rennet."

Website: http://www.tillamookcheese.com

Land O' Lakes

"What enzymes does Land O'Lakes use when producing cheese? Land O'Lakes produces a wide range of cheese products using ingredients from a variety of sources. The cheeses we produce that have a microbial enzyme are: Cheddar, Mozzarella, Colby, Muenster, Swiss and Monterey Jack. The cheeses that could have microbial and/or animal derived enzyme are Provolone and processed cheeses, such as American cheese.

http://www.landolakes.com/

The Laughing Cow

What kind of rennet is used in Mini Babybel®?
The rennet used in Mini Babybel® is derived from a dairy yeast and is suitable for vegetarian diets.

Check ingredients on other products.

http://www.thelaughingcow.com

Horizon Organic

Q. Is animal rennet used in any Horizon Organic cheeses?
A. No. All of our cheeses, including our Parmesan, are 100% vegetarian because we are able to use organic-approved microbial enzymes rather than rennet to help form the curds that

http://www.horizonorganic.com/