Entenmann said that after it certified its baked goods as kosher in 1981, business increased substantially, to about $300 million last year. Still, companies say the increased sales that can result from conversion can more than offset the inconvenience or additional costs.

And Post, which has certified its cereals for years, had trouble finding kosher apples for its new Fruit 'n Fiber brand, forcing it to go abroad for supplies. Pepperidge Farm says it did not certify its cheese Goldfish crackers because a synthetic enzyme in kosher cheeses produces a flavor that is unacceptable to the company. While packaged goods companies say it is not expensive to reformulate, it can be tricky. Please send reports of such problems to Opt out or contact us anytime

Occasionally the digitization process introduces transcription errors or other problems. To preserve these articles as they originally appeared, The Times does not alter, edit or update them. This is a digitized version of an article from The Times’s print archive, before the start of online publication in 1996. President's Choice New York Style Cheesecake - the rennet in the product is from a non-animal source. President's Choice Wood Fired Thin Crust Vegetarian Pizza - contains bacterial culture and microbial rennet,is halal. This means the ingredient could be forbidden and, through its inclusion in milk to separate the curds and whey, would render the cheese haram. The animal might not have been slaughtered by a Muslim in a way that follows halal guidelines, and the animal from which the rennet is drawn might not even be a cow. The problem with creating a halal cheese that uses rennet is that the source of the enzyme might be unknown. It is largely acquired from the stomachs of adolescent cows, although it also is present in other animals. Rennet is an enzyme that is essential in most cheese-making processes.

Goldfish cheddar halal