Bulletin from the Guide to Chodosh

Y. Herman yherman at earthlink.net
Wed Dec 31 10:25:12 EST 2003


BULLETIN FROM THE GUIDE TO CHODOSH



1 Dec 03



The second issue of this seasons Guide to Chodosh has gone to the printer 
and is due back Tuesday, Dec 2. It will (BEH) be mailed to the subscribers 
and local Guide distributors later this week, a few days later than the 
Dec. 1 expiration dateof the first issue of the Guide.

This years Guide has the first major change of format in the 31 years of 
its publication. We have assigned one of 5 categories to each items listed 
in the Guide, indicated by the Hebrew letters aleph, beis, gimmel, daledand 
ches. These are measures of the reliability of the claim to Yoshon and the 
ease of finding the Yoshon item in the stores. These symbols work fine in 
the printed and PDF versions of the Guide. However, they are lost, replaced 
by ?in the text only version.



To order the text only version to be sent to you automatically, send an E 
mail message to:

<mailto:Chodosh-request at jif.org.il>Chodosh-request at jif.org.il

In the body of the message type:

Get Guide.txt

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E mail address.



To order the PDF version, send an E mail message to 
<mailto:yherman at earthlink.net>yherman at earthlink.net. In the subject line, 
state that your are requesting the PDF file. We will try to send this file 
to you as an attachment by return E mail as soon as possible. Over the last 
few weeks we have not responded to requests for the PDF file. However, 
within the last 24 hours most of the people who requested a PDF file in the 
past should have already received the PDF version of the latest, second 
issue of the Guide. We will try to respond more rapidly in the future to 
such requests.



The following is a reprint of the list of updates and changes as printed in 
the new Guide.








SUMMARY OF CHANGES FROM THE PREVIOUS ISSUE OF THE GUIDE



WARNING: Some people use non-stick sprays, such as Bakers Joy during 
baking. Many of these contain flour which may be Chodosh. We hope to look 
into this further in the near future and publish our findings on the Hot 
Line and in the next Guide.



WARNING: × Windmill Farms organic breads that use wheat flour have a Yoshon 
label and may be Chodosh. We are now working with the company to check the 
Yoshon status of these flours. The conclusions will be publicized via the 
Hot Line news recordings and by E mail.



OTHER CORRECTIONS AND ADDITIONS



Ó Arrowhead Mills code changes: Barley Chodosh date Dec 1, code Dec 1 05 (2 
years after packing). Cereals: Check ingredients.  For oats the Chodosh 
date is Sept 23. The probable Chodosh date for spring wheat is Aug 15. The 
following hot cereals still have a code 1 year after packing: Four Grain 
Cereal Plus Flax, Seven Grain Cereal, Wheat Free 7 Grain Cereal, Rolled 
Barley Flakes, Old-Fashioned Oatmeal, Rolled Oat Flakes. The following have 
a code 18 months after packing: Bear Mush, Bits o Barley, Oat Bran, 
Oatmeal-Instant, Steel Cut Oats, All cold cereals still have a date 1 year 
after packing. Vital Wheat Gluten date is 2 years after packing.

Ð Aunt Gussies spelt cookies and cakes that use spelt but no wheat, oats or 
barley are Yoshon, under the hashgocho of the Star K.

Ó Aunt Gussies products that contain wheat are probably Chodosh starting a 
packing date of Sept 1, code Mar 1 04 (6 months after packing.)

ÑÐ Bagel Distribution Inc. frozen institutional packages of bagels Yoshon 
under the hashgocho of the Star-K with Yoshon label on the case. For 
information, call 973-824-5115.

Ò Bagels & More chalehs and rolls are always Yoshon.

Ó Barbara cereals. The code is uncertain. We are trying to get full details 
from the company. When and if the full code becomes known, we will detail 
it in updates on the News section of the Chodosh Hot Line and by E mail.

Ò Benzs kishke is always Yoshon.

× Benzs barley can not be recommended Yoshon until we receive further updates.

Ð Dr. Praeger gefilte fish (but not other fish products) is Yoshon under 
the hashgocho of Rabbi M. Unger of New Square.

× Dr. Praeger fish products may be all Chodosh at this time according to 
the mashgiach, with the exception of gefilte fish which is always Yoshon. 
The mashgiach could not provide any package codes and advises that they 
should all not be used as Yoshon.

ÑÐ  Empire cheese blintzes are Yoshon under the hashgocho of Rabbi Yehuda 
Shain. Other Empire blintzes are Chodosh.

Ð Gefen barley packed on Nov 18, 03  (code 18 NO05, 2 years after packing) 
is Yoshon under the hashgocho of Rabbi Shimon Perez of Minneapolis.

Ò Gefen cookie and cake mixes, including oatmeal cookies, are always Yoshon 
(without hashgocho for Yoshon). Also Yoshon are Gefen Soy Sauce, Gefen 
cereal, and Gefen soups including those in a cup Gefen barley packed before 
Nov 18 is Yoshon at this time without hashgocho. For those packed on or 
after Nov 19 call the Hot Line.

Ó General Mills flours from factory GF have a Chodosh packing date of Oct 
8. For Gold Medal whole wheat flour this has a package code of Apr 8 04 (6 
months after packing). For the Gold Medal all purpose and grocery bread 
flours the code is Apr 8 05 (18 mont.

Ó Glicks Graham cracker pie crust probably Yoshon up to a packing date of 
Aug 15, code 8/15/04 (1 year after packing).

Ó Goodmans noodles and other pasta. The code is uncertain. We are trying to 
get full details from the company. When and if the full code becomes known, 
we will detail it in updates on the News section of the Chodosh Hot Line 
and by E mail.

Ñ  Hadar products, ALL products, under the KAJ hashgocho should be assumed 
to be Yoshon only if there it states Yoshon on the label. (We keep getting 
phone calls about this.)

Ð Home Style Cookies. The ones made in Israel under the hashgocho of Rav 
Landau of Bne Brak are Yoshon.

× Home Style Cookies coming from Cornwall, NY are probably Chodosh at this 
time (×).

Ñ Kemach. Many listings have been updated. See individual sections which 
are marked as being revised.

× Heimishe Lokshen from Monsey is probably Chodosh at this time. No code 
available.

Ó King Arthur flours. The following flours use spring wheat. The Chodosh 
packing date is Sept 1, code Sept 1 04 (1 year after packing). Stone ground 
whole wheat flour, whole wheat flour, special for bread machine flour.

× Kineret products can not be recommended as Yoshon until further updates 
are received from the mashgiach.

× Kosherrific products can not be recommended as Yoshon until further 
updates are received from the mashgiach.

Ó La Choy soy sauce contains no wheat. Check the ingredients If it contains 
no oats or barley then it is Yoshon without hashgocho for Yoshon.

× Landau whole wheat pasta by the Landlev Co. is Chodosh as of a purchase 
date of Nov 1.

Ñ LeChaim Fruit Bars. Those with Yoshon printed on the label are Yoshon. In 
addition, all those for which the code begins with 2(which means the year 
02) are also Yoshon. Under the hashgocho of the Mechon LHarooh of Monsey.

Ð Liebers ice cream cones, licorice and candies are always Yoshon.

Ñ Liebers cookies and cereals not containing oats are Yoshon at this time, 
but it is not known how much longer they will remain Yoshon.

× Liebers cookies and cereals containing oats are Chodosh. All other 
Liebers items, not listed in the above 3 paragraphs can not be recommended 
as Yoshon until further updates are received from the mashgiach.

Ó Manischewitz noodles and pasta code has changed. The probable Chodosh 
date is Sept 15, code 2585 (258=day of the year, 5=year+2).

× Natural Ovens breads are all Chodosh at this time.

× Old City products can not be recommended as Yoshon until further updates 
are received from the mashgiach.

× Old City Café products can not be recommended as Yoshon until further 
updates are received from the mashgiach.

Ð Osem Cus Cus from Israel under the hashgocho of the Badatz of Yerushalaim 
is Yoshon.

Ò Paskesz noodles and pasta is Yoshon, without hashgocho for Yoshon.

Ó Pasta dating code for the following brands of pasta has changed: Anthony, 
GlobeA1, Luxury, Mrs. Grass, Mueller, Pasta LaBella Pathmark, Pennylvania 
Dutch, R&F, Ronco. For all, the probable Chodosh date is Sept 15, code Sept 
15 05 (2 years after packing).

Ó Quaker cereal entries on the Quaker table on page 25 of the last issue of 
the Guide has many mistakes. Those have been corrected in this issue. 
Quaker Hot Oats cereals made in Canada and sold in the USA have a Chodosh 
packing date of Sept 15, code Mar. 8 05. Quaker barley Chodosh packing date 
is earlier, Nov 4, code Apr 27 05.

Ò Rice Dream does not contain any wheats, oats and barley and is Yoshon.

Ð Ryvita crackers from England are Yoshon under the hashgocho of the Beis 
Din of London.

Ð Sea Castle frozen fish products are Yoshon under the hashgocho of the KAJ.

× Setton products other than licorice can not bet recommended as Yoshon 
until further updates are received from the mashgiach.

× Smackin Good potato knishes are confirmed Chodosh. Other Smackin Good 
products can not be recommended as Yoshon until further updates are 
received from the mashgiach.

× Unger pizza crust, tart shells and French fries with flour in them are 
all not Yoshon at this time, according to the mashgiach. The mashgiach 
could not provide any package codes and advises that they should all not be 
used.

× Unger barley is probably Chodosh at this time according to the 
mashgiach.Apparently, some claims are being made that Ungers barley is 
Yoshon. It is advised that consumers should only rely on the word of the 
Mashgiach, Rabbi Mordechai Unger, the person chosen by the company to 
represent them on halachic matters.

× Weinz cookies from Canada are not Yoshon according to the mashgiach. The 
mashgiach could not provide any package codes and advises that they should 
all not be used as Yoshon.

Ó White Rose barley has the Chodosh date of Sept 15, code Sept 15 04 (1 
year after packing.)

Ò Windmill Farms spelt breads without wheat are Yoshon. (However those that 
contain wheat may be Chodosh, even though they have a Yoshon label. See 
Warning above.)





NEW YOSHON-PRODUCING FACILITIES



Ó Pizza Time, 1324 Ave J, Brooklyn, NY 11230 (718) 252-8801. All items, 
with possible exception of pasta products, are Yoshon.

Ò Tam Eden Bakery, New Square Shopping Center, 318 Jefferson Ave, New 
Square, NY 10977 (845) 354-8083.

Kehilah Kashrus (Brooklyn) listings have been updated.



CANADIAN INFORMATION

The latest available Chodosh Bulletins of the COR of Toronto and of the 
Montreal Kashrus Council have been reprinted in Section 4.13 below.







********************************************************************************************************************************************************************************







THE YOSHON EXCHANGE

A wonderful idea has been implemented over the last several years by Mrs. 
Nelkin of Baltimore that deserves praise through emulation. She has an 
informal service she calls The Yoshon Exchange. Some people by may have 
stored up more Yoshon than they can finish by pesach. Others sometimes have 
run out of stored Yoshon supplies. Alternately, sometimes a person has a 
guest who only eats Yoshon and is unable to find Yoshon barley for the 
cholent or noodles for the soup. The Yoshon Exchange may be a solution. 
Those who have excess stored Yoshon food or food that they can spare, would 
call the Yoshon Exchange to register their available supplies. Those who 
need Yoshon call the same Exchange to see who may have such food to spare. 
The Yoshon Exchange merely acts as a shadchanor matchmaker. It never gets 
involved with the purchase or storage of the supplies.

We would like to encourage the spread of the Yoshon Exchange from Baltimore 
to other regions. The local distributors of the Guide that are listed in 
Preface D.2 below have agreed to serve as the Yoshon Exchange for their 
respective local cities (Yerushalaim not included). We suggest that all 
those who have extra Yoshon supplies call the local dealer listed for their 
city to registerthese supplies. Those who have have run out Yoshon items 
can call the same people to see if there is someone who has the items to 
spare. It is suggested that the one who gets the new items pay the original 
purchase price for it. If the price is not known, it may be possible to 
return an equivalent package after pesach.

Just one word of caution to those taking Yoshon food from others via the 
Yoshon Exchange. In Section 2.2 below we discuss how to avoid worm problems 
in stored food. Be sure that the food that you get was stored properly, 
such as in a refrigerator or freezer, or with other precautions. This is 
particularly important with barley and pasta that is prone to worm infestation.





This years Guide has the first major change of format in the 31 years of 
its publication. We have assigned one of 5 categories to each items listed 
in the Guide, indicated by the Hebrew letters aleph, beis, gimmel, daledand 
ches. These are measures of the reliability of the claim to Yoshon and the 
ease of finding the Yoshon item in the stores. These are lost, replaced by 
?in the text only version.



To order the text only version to be sent to you automatically, send an E 
mail message to:

<mailto:Chodosh-request at jif.org.il>Chodosh-request at jif.org.il

In the body of the message type:

Get Guide.txt

Make sure you capitalize as shown. DO NOT send this request to the yherman 
E mail address.



Meanwhile we plan to disseminate information on a frequent basis via E mail 
and news recordings on the voice Hot Line (845-356-5743). If you find the 
frequent E mails annoying, you may unsubscribe from the E mail list, as 
described below.

******************************************************************



NEW ADDRESS FOR ORDERING THE GUIDE TO CHODOSH

Those who wish to order the 3 printed issues of the Guide to be printed 
through the season should send a check for $15 to our new address. (This 
address is only for subscription-related matters.) Project Chodosh 
subscriptions, PO Box 297279, Brooklyn, NY 11229.



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