I am reproducing below the Preseason Chodosh Bulletin that is being mailed out in the next few days. Please note that the reminder to renew subscriptions refers to the printed Guide that will be mailed out by U.S. mail. Those of you who have subscribed to this E mail list do not need to renew their subscriptions. However I ask very much that if you change E mail service providers, please unsubscribe from this E mail list first and then resubscribe from your new service. The instructions on how to do this are given at the end of this message.
TIME TO RENEW SUBSCRIPTIONS TO THE GUIDE TO CHODOSH The new Chodosh season will start soon (see estimates below.) Now is the time to renew your subscription to have the three issues of the Guide mailed to your home. The Guide project does not accept any donations. All expenses are covered by the sales of the Guides. Postage paid subscriptions for the three issues cost $15. Individual copies sold by local distributors are $5 per issue. The first issue of the Guide is due to be mailed out approximately mid September, to be followed by the other two issues in December and February. To subscribe, please send your checks made out to "Project Chodosh" to the Guide address given at top of the page. We have had difficulties in the past because not everyone included their full mailing address. Please fill in the renewal form given below. In particular, you must supply the Zip code and the apartment number, if applicable. THE AGRICULTURAL SITUATION The progress of the new Chodosh crops is running about average this year. Almost none of the potentially Chodosh crops were planted before pesach. Specifically the approximate amount planted before pesach was 1% of spring wheat, 2% of the barley and 4% of the oats. In terms of total crops available after the harvest, we anticipate that during the upcoming season, the majority of spring wheat, oats and barley will certainly be Chodosh. However, we do not have specific estimates since the US Department of Agriculture has not yet published data from which we calculate the percentages of Chodosh for each of the crops in question. We plan to publish numerical estimates on the Chodosh Hot Line recorded news and by E mail, after mid July, and in the Guide. It is also noteworthy that about 1/3 of all the oats in the USA will be imported, mostly from Canada. Canadian oats are also mostly Chodosh, however, the harvest is considerably later than in the US. This means that those companies that use US-grown oats could start Chodosh as early as start of August. However many large companies import Canadian oats for their cereals. Their Chodosh starting date is usually in early October. In the past, several of the major companies that used Canadian oats in their cereals included General Mills, ConAgra and Ralston. We have not yet checked on the arrangements of these companies for the new season. ESTIMATED CHODOSH STARTING DATES The following are preliminary estimates only. Corrections and updates to these will be posted when available on the News section of the Chodosh Hot Line and by E mail to those who subscribe to the E mail list (see below.) The corrected dates will be published in the first edition of the Guide. Freshly baked products in local bakeries such as breads, challehs, rolls, bagels probably Yoshon if purchased up to: Sept 7 in the East and Far West, Aug 25 in the Mid West. Packaged foods containing wheat, other than pasta probably Yoshon if purchased up to Sept 15. After that package codes have to be used. Packaged pasta probably safe if packed before Sept 30, probably safe to purchase up to Oct 15. Foods containing oats may be Chodosh as early as the purchase date of Aug 15. However, they are probably safe if packed up to Sept. 15, probably safe to purchase up to Oct 8. (The reason for this range of dates is that US-grown oats is harvested starting late July, but many large companies use Canadian oats that is harvested much later, as explained above.) Foods containing barley (other than malt) probably safe if packed up to Sept 15, probably safe to purchase up to Oct 15. A NOTE TO OWNERS OF YOSHON-PRODUCING ESTABLISHMENTS If you are a producer of Yoshon foods, please note that the Guide would like to list your products. Such listing, which is at no charge to you, is a service to the Yoshon consumer and is free advertising for you. Please send full details including name and address of your establishment, the telephone number (voice and fax), the name of the person in charge, the name of the mashgiach who takes responsibility for Yoshon (if there is such a mashgiach) and a complete list of the Yoshon products that you offer. Fax this information to 845-356-5999. Alternatively, you can mail it to: Yoshon Producer Information, 20 Sylvan Road, Monsey, NY 10952. (It is important that the address be specifically to Yoshon Consumer Information. Otherwise your letter will be mixed with the many subscription letters that we receive and will not be seen in time.) If you are a Yoshon consumer, you would do us all a service if you would make sure that your local Yoshon bakeries, pizza shops, and restaurants send us their information updated for this year THE E-MAIL MAILING LIST Those who have access to E mail can have important corrections and updates sent to their E mail address automatically. To subscribe to this free service send a blank E mail message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Those who have subscribed last year do not need to renew this E mail subscription. ________________________________________ 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: [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 in the last two years, but is still substantially valid. 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.
