@LauraTXNM
It is truly an amazement how many packaged products cannot meet kosher. Especially from the standpoint of chemical preservers that I don't know or understand.
@roamer_1There is more to get a 'Kosher' stamp on something than simply whether or not it is actually kosher. A lot of packaged products are completely kosher but do not bear a stamp. And there are many products that were once marked 'Kosher' which have since lost the stamp even though no change was made to the ingredients or how it is produced.
The Kosher stamp is a different thing than whether or not a food is kosher. The stamp requires a fee and sometimes requires that Rabbis be present while it is being made and other expenses. What I mean is, there are a lot of products which are in every way kosher but simply cannot afford the expense of getting it stamped officially kosher.
My favorite example of this is a kosher bakery which had a big sign in the window with a certified kosher stamp. The bakery fell on hard times and could no longer afford the fee required to maintain the stamp. So, the Rabbi pulled the sign and declared, "This bakery is no longer Kosher." Ok, but what about the bread that was already made? Is that bread suddenly not kosher because of a sign? What about the bread I will make tomorrow exactly as I made it today? The point being, is the bread kosher because it is kosher, or is the bread kosher because a Rabbi says it is kosher?
I agree there is a difference between keeping the Torah and keeping with Rabbinic Law and Jewish traditions. Those are not the same thing. But I heard a Rabbi say that much of Jewish Law is about the effort you make. What you have in your mind and in your heart is as important as the details. In that case, you are doing great.
According the Rabbi, it is not so much about the tiny details of whether or not what you are doing is exactly right, as it is having the Law in your heart and in your soul and in your mind (Tefillin, Shema). Making the effort is as important as getting it exactly right.