Chodosh season starting-Draft of announcement

[Yoseph Herman]

The following is the semi-final draft of the announcement of the start of
the new Chodosh season. Mashgichim especially, please take note.

*CHODOSH BULLETIN-7 AUG 12*

*From the Guide to Chodosh-Y. Herman*

*Chodosh telephone Hot Line 718-305-5133, email *yherman at earthlink.net



In a departure from previous years, this year the Guide to Chodosh will
publish only one for booklet for the season. Instead of the other two
issues, we will send update information as often as needed to the paid
subscribers and those on the email list. This is the first of those updates.



*CHODOSH DATES FOR THE FORTHCOMING SEASON-EARLIER THAN USUAL*



In the list below, the “Packing date” indicates that all packaged goods
that were packed on or after that date may be Chodosh. The “Purchase date”
is the first date for which we feel it may no longer be safe to purchase
the foods without checking  for dating codes. We also give the first
recommended date to stop purchasing freshly baked items produced at the
local bakeries.



One can tell when the package was packed using the dating code printed on
the package. Dating codes are listed each year in the new, updated Guide to
Chodosh for a large number of products. However, we have the same problem
this year, as we had in all previous years. We are not able to publish the
new Guide until the mashgichim and other sources update their Yoshon
hashgocho information for the new season. Based on previous experience, all
such needed information will not be available until after Sukkos. Meanwhile
we will do our best to bridge the data gap as well as we can with updates
such as this to be mailed by US mail to the list of paid subscribers, sent
by email and recorded on the Hot Line. (See below how one can become a paid
subscriber to the printed reports. Reports sent by email are free of
charge.) In the interim, those who have last year’s Guide may try to
recalculate the codes given there for individual products to the current
year and cutoff packing date. A copy of last year’s last Guide is still
available by sending email to chodosh at sefer.com. If you do use that old
Guide, remember that it has not been updated. It should only be used for
package code guidance.



*GENERAL GUIDANCE*



·         All items made in Israel under a reliable kashrus hashgocho are
Yoshon. Also included are items under the hashgocho of the
Badatz-Yerushalaim, even if made outside of Israel.**

·         All packaged goods with Yoshon printed on the label are Yoshon,
except when the only kashrus hashgocho is the Volover Rebbe, Harav Nochum
Efraim Teitelbaum.**



*LIST OF CHODOSH DATES:*



. We expect the Chodosh grain to start appearing in products as follows:

·         *Oats* products *packed or produced* as of *Jul 26* may contain
Chodosh. If *purchased* after *Aug 9* package codes should be checked.
However a later date is applicable for oatmeal and oats in other cereals
made by General Mills, Quaker and Mail-O-Meal, as noted below.

·         *SPRING WHEAT: *Packaged foods that contain spring wheat may
contain Chodosh if *packed or produced* as of *Aug 9*. If *purchased* after
*Aug 24* package codes should be checked. Items containing wheat, wheat
germ or wheat starch may be Chodosh after this date unless it is known that
the wheat is Yoshon. Examples of foods that are from winter wheat and are
Yoshon are matzos and gefilte fish (Note: Some gefilte fish may use ground
up bread crumbs instead of matzo meal. The only such brand we have found so
far A&B was using only Yoshon bread crumbs.). However packaged products
made by General Mills have an earlier date. See discussion below.

·         *FRESHLY BAKED *bakery or store-produced items including breads,
chalahs, rolls, bagels, many cakes and cookies,  and pizza may be Chodosh
as of the *baking date* of *Aug 9* in the mid-West USA and as of *Aug
22*if made elsewhere in the USA. However, bakeries using General Mills
flour
may be Chodosh signifincantly earlier. See dicussion of General Mills
bakery flour and other wheat products, below.

·         *NOODLES AND PASTA* may be Chodosh as of the *packing* date of *Aug
16*. If *purchased *after *Sept 7*, package codes should be checked.

·         *BARLEY*: pearled barley or barley in cereals may be Chodosh as
of the *packing* date of *Aug 15.* If *purchased* after *Sept 1*, package
codes should be checked. Last year, So far we have confirmed from the
mashgiach that Gefen barley will be Yoshon the entire season. We are still
waiting for confirmation for the other brands of barley that were Yoshon
last year. For the following national brands of barley the Chodosh code is *Aug
15, 2013*: C&F, Jack Rabbit, Peak, Stop&Shop, Trinidad. For Quaker barley
the code is *Feb 6, 2014*.

·         *BARLEY MALT* (also listed in the ingredients as “malt”) may be
Chodosh as of the *packing* date of Dec 15. Package codes should be checked
after the *purchase* date of Jan 15 for *beer* and March 15 for malt in
other products.







*REVISED  STATEMENT  ON THE OATS SITUATION*



We  had stated on several occasions that according to the weekly crop
progress reports issued by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), about 3
days before the second day of pesach 55% of the oats crop was already
planted. Therefore, if one holds halachically that crops that took root 3
days before the second day of pesach are Yoshon, then this year oats grown
in the US should be majority Yoshon. However, it was first pointed out to
me by Rabbi Yehashua Norman of the COR-Toronto that the statistics issued
by the USDA are not meant to be precise enough to rely on the 55% figure to
be maikil.  However, even more importantly, new data was brought to my
attention by Reb Arye Leib Schreiber that totally does away with the hope
that most of the oats may be Yoshon this year.  I originally published the
estimate based on the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) that indicated
that this year about 55%  of the oats crop was planted after the 3-day
date. However, Reb Arye Leib Schreiber sent me USDA documentation that
shows the early average planting date of the USDA was skewed by the fact
that it included the very early planting dates of states such as Texas and
California. It turns out that most of the oats harvested in those states
are sold for animal feed only. Oats used for human consumption come
primarily from the upper Mid-West states where the planting is later.
Indeed, following the suggestion of Reb Arye Leib Schreiber I took the
animal-feeds states out of the calculations and came up with a revised
estimate. Namely *approximately 31% of the oats were planted before the
latest, 3-day before 2nd day of pesach *date. This estimate is not
understood to be precise. However, it is sufficiently less than 50%, that
we are confident to believe that even according to the 3-day opinion,  most
of the oats were Chodosh as planted. Therefore, the final conclusions are
that *all of the Chodosh USA spring crops, oats, spring wheat and barley
were certainly mostly Chodosh.*

* *

*WHEAT FROM GENERAL MILLS CHODOSH ESPECIALLY EARLY THIS YEAR*



We gave Chodosh dates for wheat products above as being Aug 9 for packaged
products and as late as Aug 22 for bakery products baked fresh in the East
and Far West USA. Those dates do not hold for wheat products using flour
milled by General Mills. Indeed General Mills itself informed us that the
Mills  in the Mid West may be Chodosh as of Jul 23. In addition, the O-U
verified that the General Mills flour mill in Buffalo New York, the one
serving the Greater New York are, may be Chodosh as of Jul25. The last few
weeks has seen the worst drought in many decades intensifying in the
crop-growing areas. As a result, farmers are rushing to harvest all crops,
including the Chodosh crops, earlier than in the past, hoping to save as
much of it as possible. This may be the reason for the unusually early
start of Chodosh at General Mills. In any case any General Mills
*cereals * with
any wheat products in the list of ingredients (including wheat germ, wheat
starch, or wheat bran) may be Chodosh starting with the packing date of Jul
23. The package dating code for Jul 23 is July 30 2013 (372 days after
packing). Freshly baked products from bakeries using General Mills flour
may have been Chodosh starting  Jul 30 in the Mid West and may have started
Aug 2 in the East and Far West unless measures were taken to use only
Yoshon flour after those dates. We have no way of knowing which local
bakeries use General Mills flour, you have to ask. One of the most popular
brands of such flour is called “All Trump”.



SPECIFIC BRANDS OF OATS CEREALS



The O-U had estimated that at least up to a packing date of Sept 15 , all
the oat meals and  *oats* in cereals made by General Mills, Quaker and
Malt-O-Meal use Yoshon oats. Note of caution, this only applies to the oats
in these cereals. Those cereals that have wheat products in the list of
ingredients may be Chodosh from the earlier wheat date given above. For
General Mills cereals with wheat in the ingredients (such as some types of
Cheerios), the wheat may be Chodosh starting with a code of Jul 30 2012
(372 days after packing.) The wheat Chodosh codes for Quaker and
Malt-O-Meal are too complicated and will be given in the full Guide.
However all oat meals and other cereals from these companies that do not
contain wheat in the ingredients are probably Yoshon up to the *purchase *date
of Sept 30.



HOW TO PURCHASE A PAID SUBSCRIPTION FOR PRINTED GUIDE AND OTHER REPORTS TO
BE SENT TO YOU BY US MAIL



The price for 1 Guide booklet (the only one to be published this year) plus
update supplements such as this to be mailed to you by US mail is $16 if it
is to be sent to an address in the USA, $18.50 to Canada and Mexico, and
$22 to Israel and other overseas addresses.



·         By *Credit Card* (preferred). Either call 845-356-9348, or fax in
your name, address, your phone number, and your credit card number and
expiration date to 845-746-4205. (A few people have reported that they were
unable to send faxes to the above number. We still have not been able to
trace the reason for this problem. If you experience such fax problems,
please accept our apologies and try to call in your order by voice message
to the first phone number.)

·         Mail your order with a check for $16, $18.50 or $22, to Project
Chodosh, PO Box 150088, Kew Gardens, NY 11415. Be sure to include your full
name, address and phone number.





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