CHODOSH NEWS AS OF DEC 2 01 It was called to my attention that some issues of the second edition of the Guide that was just mailed out have several pages out of order. If you received one of these, please notify me of your name and address by E mail or the Hot Line and I will send you a replacement copy.
The following changes and additions to the Guide are since the printing of the second edition: KEMACH macaraoni, spaghetti and lasagna. According to the Guide, the Chodosh date is Oct 1. In fact the Chodosh date is later, Nov. 1, package code Nov. 1 2002 (1 year after packing.) ARROWHEAD MILLS. The following items are now from winter wheat only: Wheat bran, wheat germ, regular whole wheat flour, whole wheat pastry flour, vital wheat gluten, bulgur, puffed wheat, cracked wheat cereal. Still from spring wheat is puffed kamut. Chodosh date for kamut is Sept 25, code 2681 (268=day of the year, 1=year.) WILLMARK makes mixes used by bakeries. The following mixes are Chodosh at this time: donut mix, yeast raised dough. These mixes are available in Yoshon form only to those establishments that reserved Yoshon before the start of the Chodosh season. Cake mixes are always Yoshon. LAKEWOOD HEIMISHE BAKE SHOP, 225 2nd St. Lakewood, (732) 905-9057. This bakery has now provided the requested information: All challahs, rolls, cakes, pastries, as well as 2 lb rye breads, white bread, whole wheat bread, club bread are all Yoshon. The kashrus hashgocho does not take responsibility for Yoshon. However, six-grain breads, breads not listed above and bran muffins are NOT Yoshon. MARTISCO, UNGER AND BENZY'S BARLEY STILL NOT RECOMMENDED AS YOSHON, DESPITE THE CLAIMS OF MARTISCO: I have received a copy of a letter being sent out by Martisco to "prove" that these barleys are Yoshon. The letter states that all this barley comes from Yoshon crop that was sealed by Rabbi Abraham Juravel (of the O-U). It invites all interested parties to check with the owner of the bins that contain this barley or to go to Idaho to verify this information. The fact is that Rabbi Juravel did seal bins of Yoshon barley in Idaho. However, we explained in detail in Preface A-3 of the Guide, barley takes several steps between the storage bins mentioned in Martisco's letter and your grocery shelf. It is first transported from the bin to a pearling company that removes the outer shell of each barley kernel. This company does pearling of barley from all sources, most of them being Chodosh at this time. This is also done in Idaho. Then the pearled barley is shipped in bulk to Martisco in New York State which packs the barley into individual 1 pound bags. We have explained to the representative of Martisco and Unger that in order to be considered Yoshon throughout the Chodosh season we need to have reliable mashgichim verify that Yoshon barley that leaves the bins sealed by Rabbi Juravel is the only barley that is contained in the shipments that go East from Idaho and are packed by Martisco. This representative explained to us that they can not afford to pay for the additional hashgocho due to the small profit that can be earned by selling barley. We do not insist that they hire any mashgichim when they can not afford to do so. However, we do feel obligated to inform the Yoshon-observant public, that so far the company has not been able to show how they verify the Yoshon status of this barley in a manner that Orthodox Jews consider reliable. We have contacted Benzy's which originally claimed that their barley is Yoshon based on such assurances from Martisco. So far as we know, they understood our objections and are no longer claiming that their barley is Yoshon. The management of Ungers refused to discuss this matter with and referred the questions back to the representative that does not return our numerous phone calls. (Yoshon barley seems hard to find now. People are urged to look for Geffen barley that is Yoshon at least up to the packing date of Oct 15, code 15 OC02 or Goya barley which has a revised Chodosh date of Nov. 1, code 030501 (0=not important, 305=day of the year, 02=year +1.) CHODOSH NEWS AS OF 22 NOV 01 The second edition of the Guide to Chodosh for the current season has now been printed and most have been mailed out to the paid subscribers. To request an unformatted E mail version to be sent to you (free of charge) send a message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] On the first line of the message type: get Guide.txt (This only works if you copy the message exactly, including capitalization.) The file is large, 200 KBytes. It will be sent to you by return E mail. Meanwhile, attached below is the summary of changes and news taken from the beginning of the new Guide. This contains some new information, plus all of the information which I had been sending out piecemeal in earlier E mail updates. Yoseph Herman ________________________________________________ A SUMMARY OF CHANGES FROM THE PREVIOUS EDITION OF THE GUIDE This is a summary of the changes that have become known since the printing of the last issue of the Guide. These changes are gathered here and listed in alphabetical order, to permit a quick review by the reader. The reader who is very familiar with the previous edition of the Guide may choose to merely review this list of corrections. However, for the convenience of everyone, each of these corrections has been inserted in the appropriate locations in the Guide below as well. In addition, in the body of the Guide, below, the attention of the reader is called to each item that has been corrected or added in this edition by bold print and a bullet marking next to the changed section. In a few cases where the changes are very lengthy, only a brief mention is made in this summary. IMPORTANT WARNINGS Spicy Fries. The Kehilah Kashrus of Brooklyn points out that most pizza stores (at least in Brooklyn, maybe elsewhere) sell Spicy Fries. These items may be Chodosh and should be avoided until further clarification, even in stores that are otherwise fully Yoshon. Barley Warning: Some people may be claiming that the following barleys are Yoshon: Unger, Benzy's and Martisco. In fact these companies have made some efforts to produce barley that is Yoshon. However, so far they have failed to explain adequately the reliability of their processes. Therefore, these are still not recommended as Yoshon until further notice unless the store already had them in stock by Sept 1. REVISED PROBABLE CHODOSH DATE FOR PASTA Noodles and other pasta for which no specific Chodosh date is given can be assumed to be probably Chodosh starting with a packing date of Oct 27, or to be probably Chodosh if purchased after Nov. 17. FOOD ESTABLISHMENTS UNDER HASHGOCHO FOR YOSHON Bread Basket Bakery, 703 Kings Highway, Brooklyn. All items Yoshon under the hashgocho of Rabbi Gornish. Classic Caterers, 2818 Ave. K, Brooklyn, NY 11210. (718) 692-3100. . Yoshon available only by arrangements through the offices of Kehilah Kashrus. Eli's Bagels, 58 N. Myrtle Ave, Monsey. All baked goods are Yoshon under hashgocho for Yoshon of Rav Gruber. Note that this only applies to baked goods. Other items such as the barley, for example in cholent, may be Chodosh. EmJay Caterers, 2902 Kings Highway, Brooklyn, NY 11229, (718) 338-5000. Yoshon available only by arrangements through the offices of Kehilah Kashrus. Essex on Coney, Brooklyn. Corrected listing:, American side is Yoshon, including the noodles and pasta, but excluding the egg rolls, hamburger and frankfurter buns and some fancy cakes. Under the Yoshon hashgocho of Kehilah Kashrus. On the Chinese side, nothing (even flour) is Yoshon. Gourmet on the Bay, Brooklyn, Corrected listing. Nothing is guaranteed to be Yoshon, unless requested from the offices of Kehilah Kashrus. Kol Tuv Restaurant, 118 Route 59, Monsey. All baked goods are Yoshon under the hashgocho of Rav Gruber. Mendelson's Pizza, 4418 18th Ave., Brooklyn. All items, including the frozen pizza, are Yoshon under the hashgocho of the O-U. Strauss Bakery, 5209 13th Ave., Brooklyn, (718-851-7728). All items are Yoshon, including the apple strudel. Under the Yoshon hashgocho of the O-U. FOOD ESTABLISHMENTS YOSHON WITHOUT HASHGOCHO FOR YOSHON NOTE: The following establishments, we believe, have reliable supervision for kashrus. However, the kashrus supervision does not take responsibility for Yoshon. Therefore, these, from the Yoshon point of view, may be less preferred than those establishments where a qualified mashgiach checks the ongoing arrangements for Yoshon, such as the establishments listed above, or listed in italic print in the Guide. Circa-NY Restaurant, West 33rd St, New York, NY. Only a few items are Yoshon. Caution is urged since some of the staff seems to be confused about what is Yoshon and what is not. Gertel's Bakery, 53 Hester St. New York City. All baked items are Yoshon. The kashrus hashgocho does not certify Yoshon. Jerusalem Pizza, Monsey Glatt Shopping Center, 190 Rt 59. All items are Yoshon, including rolls and sandwich breads. The kashrus hashgocho does not certify Yoshon. Kaff Bakery 4518 Ft. Hamilton Parkway, Brooklyn (718) 633-2600. All items made in the bakery are Yoshon as in the past years. The kashrus hashgocho does not certify Yoshon. King David Bakery, 77-51 Vleigh Place, Flushing, Queens, NY (718)969-6165. All items in the store are Yoshon. The kashrus hashgocho does not certify Yoshon. Kossar's Bialis, 367 Grand St., New York, NY 10002, (212) 473-4810. Baked products are Yoshon. The kashrus hashgocho does not certify Yoshon. Michyo Pita was listed in the Guide as Not Recommended for lack of information. The information has now been received that all regular and whole wheat pita is Yoshon as in the past years. The kashrus hashgocho does not certify Yoshon. Ostrowizky's Heimishe Bakery, 1201 Ave J, Brooklyn. As in the past years, all items baked on premises are Yoshon. The kashrus hashgocho does not certify Yoshon. Pizza Pious, 1063 Broadway, Woodmere, LI, NY, 516-295-2050. Also at 18 East Park Ave., Long Beach, 516-431-1777. Pizza, rolls, garlic nuts, zeppelins and calzone are Yoshon. Other items may be Chodosh. There is no hashgocho for Yoshon. Queens Kosher Pita, 68-38 Main St. Flushing, Queens, NY (718) 263-8000. All items made in the store are Yoshon, including pita, chaleh, cakes and other items. The kashrus hashgocho does not certify Yoshon. Rose Kosher Bakery, 69-62 Main Street, Flushing, NY, (718-793-3282 or 261-2654) All items baked in the store are Yoshon. The kashrus hashgocho does not certify Yoshon. Say Bagel N'Cheese, 1304 Ave M, Brooklyn. (718)-998-8778. All items baked in the store are Yoshon. Many items that are brought in from the outside may not be Yoshon. There is no hashgocho specifically for Yoshon. Shelly's Caf‚ and Pizza, 126 Maple Ave. Spring Valley. All items are Yoshon. Note: Rav Bresslauer said that while it is true that the store is Yoshon, but that his hashgocho does not officially extend to the Yoshon arrangements. Weiss Bakery, 5011 13th Ave. Brooklyn, (718) 438-0407 All items baked locally are Yoshon. This store has a branch in Philadelphia. The chalehs sold in Philadelphia are Yoshon. Donuts, bagels and breads in Philadelphia may be Chodosh. The kashrus hashgocho does not certify Yoshon. ESTABLISHMENT NOT RECOMMENDED FOR YOSHON Lebon Restaurant & Pizzeria, 980 6th Ave, New York, NY has been claiming that they are Yoshon. This restaurant is NOT RECOMMENDED as Yoshon at this time. OTHER CORRECTIONS AND ADDITIONS TO THE GUIDE Arrowhead Mills Puffed Kamut. There is a mistake in Section 3.10 of the Guide, where it states that this is from Yoshon spring wheat. The word "Yoshon" should have been omitted, since this wheat is Chodosh starting Sept 25, as stated there. Barbara Cereals can not be recommended because the company refuses to reveal the dating code system used. Columbia pasta from Zerega & Co., Chodosh date Oct 15. On small grocery size packeages, the code is Oct 30 02 (1 year after packing). On large bulk packages, the code is 2881 (288=day of the year, 1=year.) Dagim frozen products are Yoshon, but without hashgocho for Yoshon. Eden pasta code has changed. The probable Chodosh date is Oct 27, code 03001 (0=not important, 300=day of year, 1=year. Flour USA packs high gluten flour in 5 and 6 pound brown bags that are sold in grocery stores in the New York City area. All bags that state Yoshon on the bag are Yoshon without hashgocho for Yoshon. Geffen barley is Yoshon up to and including the packing date of Oct. 15, code: 15OC02 (15=date, OC=October, 02=2002, one year after packing.) There is no specific hashgocho for Yoshon at this time. The company is trying to find a suitable way of packing Yoshon barley reliably after this date. We will issue further bulletins on this as more information becomes available. General Mills oats Chodosh packing date is Nov. 1 Gold Medal flours from factory V. The all purpose white flour is 100% winter wheat. The Better For Bread uses 50% spring wheat and the home whole wheat flour is from 100% spring wheat. Chodosh date for spring wheat is Sept 15, code March 15, 2003 (18 months after packing.) The all purpose white home baking flour from factory L is from 100% winter wheat. From factory D Gold Medal all purpose white flour is from winter wheat. Gold Medal Whole wheat flour is from spring wheat. The Chodosh packing date is Oct 15, code Apr 15 2003. Goya barley, the revised Chodosh date is Nov. 1, code 030501 (0=not important, 305=day of the year, 01=year.) Grandstand Pizza Bagel is Yoshon without special hashgocho for Yoshon. Kemach correction:: Chow Mein noodles were supposed to be Yoshon up to the purchase date of Oct 31. In fact they became Chodosh earlier, starting with the packing date of Oct 18, code of 181J (18=day, 1=year, J=month in alph. order.) Kemach egg noodles are Yoshon even without Yoshon labels. Kemach spaghetti, macaroni and lasagna have a revised Chodosh date of Oct. 1, code Oct 1 2002 (1 year after packing.) Manischewitz pasta. The code may have changed to a date. The corrected probably Chodosh date is Oct 27. Old code would be 3001 (300=day of year, 1=year.) The new code may be Oct. 27, 2002 (1 year after packing.) This code may be inaccurate. We are trying to clarify this. Mehadrin Pizza, Yoshon with Yoshon label, without special hashgocho for Yoshon. Nature Valley Granola Bars probable Chodosh date is Sept 21, code Sept 21, 2002 (1 year after packing. Noodles and pasta under the following brand names have a Chodosh packing date of Nov. 1. The code for each is 110103xx (11=November, 01=date, 03=year+2, xx=numbers that are not important.) The brands are Mueller, Pennsylvania Dutch, Ronco, R&F, Luxury, Globe A1, Anthony, Mrs. Gross. Noodles and pasta under the following brand names have a Chodosh packing date of Nov. 12. The code for each is 1316 (1=year, 316=day of the year.) The brands are Prince, Creamette, Gioia, Ronzoni, San Giorgio, P&R, Light N' Fluffy, Ideal, American Beauty, Skinner. Noodles and pasta under the following names are listed in the Guide with the probable Chodosh packing date. Since, as mentioned above, the probable Chodosh date has been delayed to Oct. 27, the corresponding Chodosh code for each of these has been adjusted. For specific information see Section 3.5 below. The brands are: Berilla, Bordens, Bravo, ContaLuna, C-Town, De Bols, Del Monico, Eden, Foulds, Goodmans, Hershey, Leonardo, Mrs. Weiss, Pasta La Bella, Perfection, Richfoods, Shoprite, Sysco, Vimco, Viviano. Paskesz cookies under the hashgocho of Rav Gruber are Yoshon even without Yoshon label, except for those cookies that contain oats or graham flour. Those should not be purchased after Sept 17. Pathmark noodles and pasta have a Chodosh packing date of Nov 1, code Nov 1, 2003 (2 years after packing.) Pillsbury white home baking flour and bread flour in 5 pound bags for home baking from factory A contain 50% spring wheat. The Chodosh packing date is Sept 18, code I1A18 (I=Sept in alph. Order, 1=year, A=factory, 18=date.) Quaker Unprocessed bran date code is 9 months after packing. The Fruit Tangy Oats is 8 months after packing. Captain Crunch cereal date is 10 months days after packing. Robin Hood all purpose flour from factory D has the Chodosh date of Oct 15, code Apr 15 03 D (18 months after packing.) Savion croutons. The probable Chodosh date is Oct 27, code 11300 (1=year, 1 not important, 300=day of the year. Sea Diamond frozen products are Yoshon, but without hashgocho for Yoshon. Tabachnick soups the code has changed. The probable Chodosh date is Aug 26, code 08264 (3 years after packing). Unger, Benzy's and Martisco barley still can not be recommended as Yoshon due to lack of sufficient supporting information from the companies. Recommended only if the store had it since Sept 1. Vegichef frozen products are Yoshon, but without hashgocho for Yoshon. Weetabix cereals were listed in the Guide under "Grainfield" and were supposed to use only winter wheat. These cereals are no longer associated with Grainfield. However, most are still from winter wheat, where the only possible problem is malt (see malt discussion below.) The only known exceptions are the Alpen and Grain Shop cereals may be Chodosh starting the packing date of Sept. 27, code SE27. (Information supplied by the COR of Toronto.) CANADIAN YOSHON SITUATION The latest available Chodosh Bulletin of the COR of Toronto is reprinted in Section 4.11 below. ANNUAL MALT REMINDER We never found any malt manufacturer that begins to ship Chodosh malt from the new barley crop earlier than Dec. 15. The malt is then shipped, Dec. 15 or later, to other factories that begin to use it in the end products. Therefore, using the terminology established in the Guide, all malt in foods is "definitely" Yoshon before Dec 15. Up to Jan. 15 such malt is "probably" Yoshon The following applications of malt pose a problem of Chodosh. Malt is used for several purposes. Foods using malt for flavoring or coloring should not be used if packed after Dec 15 or at least Jan 15 since that malt may be Chodosh. That includes cereals flavored with malt such as Corn Flakes and Rice Crispies, as well as most pretzels where it is used for coloring. Beer is also included in the category of items which are Chodosh because of malt. (In the case of beer, we recommend that the Dec 15 date should be used, not the probable date of Jan 15.) In addition there are specialty vinegars such as malt vinegar, terragon vinegar and salad vinegar which are made with high concentrations of malt. We had urged our readers to avoid some items in the past because they may contain barley malt. We have since discovered that many of these are not a problem so far as the malt content is concerned. This includes baking flour that lists barley malt in the ingredients. Also permitted are most vinegar-based items such as ordinary household vinegar, and condiments such as ketchup, mayonnaise, mustard, pickles, etc. ___________________________ To send an E mail message to the Guide, please address it to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Before you discontinue using an E-mail service, please unsubscribe from this list by sending a message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Then if you wish to resume receiving these messages from your new service, send a message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] You can request several reports by sending an E-mail message to: chodosh- [EMAIL PROTECTED] Then in the body of the message type the command: "get" (without the quotes) followed by the name of the file that you want. Type each request on a new line. Make sure that you copy the file name exactly as spelled including capital letters. These reports are now available: get Guidelines.txt This gets a long report on Guidelines to Mashgichim on Chodosh. This has not been updated since last year, but is still substantially valid. Get Guide.txt This gets the full latest Guide to Chodosh, dated 16 Sept 01 get News.txt This gives the latest news bulletin, such as this note. __________________________________________ Project Chodosh is an independent activity, not affiliated with any movement or organization. We thank the Jewish Internet Fund (JIF) for allowing us to use their E mail distribution services. The JIF provides free email and web hosting to Jewish education and outreach organizations.
