configuration files

I thought it would be a good idea to use parse_ini_file instead of doing require_once("config.ini"). However, what do I do about arrays that i had in my config file, cos parse_ini_file() does not like them. eg: [foods] favFoods = array('this','that','other',) I notice my php.ini file is arranged in a similar format, and where there are multiple options they are separated by a colon, like include_dir = ./:../ or something similar. Rgds Malcolm