The following chodesh information is from Rabbi Yoseph Herman on September 9, 2014.
- IMPORTANT CHANGE REGARDING MALT: Over the past several decades the Guide to Chodosh has stated that barley malt is Yoshon up to at least the manufacturing date of December 15. This was based on information gathered from many malt producers and is still the practice at some. Now at least one major producer of malt informed us that they will start using Chodosh barley to produce their malt by October 15! While products using this malt will not reach the consumers for some time, this is a warning to manufacturers of Yoshon products and mashgichim. Please note that the CHODOSH DATE RECOMMENDED BY THE GUIDE TO CHODOSH FOR MALT HAS CHANGED FROM DECEMBER 15 TO OCTOBER 15. This affects cereals and other items using malt. It also affects beer from barley malt (most beers are from barley malt.)
- THE CHODOSH SEASON IS IN FULL SWING; By now all products using spring wheat, oats or barley must be checked to make sure that they are Yoshon. This includes freshly baked items from bakeries, pizza shops and bagel shops that should have hashgocho for Yoshon. It also includes packaged items. These should only be assumed to be Yoshon if there is Yoshon hashgocho on the package, or by confirming with dating codes that the item was manufactured before the cutoff date.
- The August 14 information below should still be valid. Note that for Cheerios cereals the oats will become Chodosh starting a packing date of Oct 20. Those types of Cheerios that have WHEAT GERM in the ingredients, may be Chodosh as of the packing date of Aug 18 (date on the box would be Aug 25 15.)
The following chodesh information is from Rabbi Yoseph Herman on August 12, 2014.
The latest report from the US Dep’t of Agriculture confirms that the harvest and spring wheat and barley have begun. That is allowing us to formulate the recommended Chodosh cutoff dates for the forthcoming season. These are given below. Note that dates given below for oats used in Quaker and General Mills (such as Cheerios) cereals may still change.
- FRESHLY BAKED ITEMS USING SPRING WHEAT including breads, challahs, bagels, rolls, pizza and some cakes and cookies. May be Chodosh in the mid-West (such as Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Minneapolis) after a PURCHASE date of Aug 18. Elsewhere in the US, Aug 25.
- PACKAGED FOODS FROM SPRING WHEAT not including noodles and pasta may be Chodosh starting a PACKING date of Aug 18, PURCHASE date of Sept 1.
- NOODLES AND PASTA may be Chodosh starting a PACKING date of Aug 25, PURCHASE date of Sept 8.
- BARLEY such as pearled barley may be Chodosh starting a PACKING date of Aug 18, PURCHASE date of Sept 1.
- OATS in non-cereal applications, such as oats flour in cookies, may be Chodosh starting with a PACKING date of Aug 4, PURCHASE date of Aug 28. Oat meal and other oats products from Quaker may be Chodosh with a PACKING date of Aug 19, PURCHASE DATE OF Sept 3. Cheerios may be Chodosh starting a PACKING date of Sept 15, PURCHASE date of Oct 1. Cereals from most other manufacturers, the oats may be Chodosh with a PACKING date of Sept 1, PURCHASE DATE of Sept 15. Remember, the oats dates for Quaker and Cheerios will probably still be revised.
The following chodesh information is from Rabbi Yoseph Herman on July 29, 2014.
The following latest tentative Chodosh starting dates are based on the US Dep't of Agriculture Jul 28 US weekly harvest report:
- Oats
- Oats other than cereals packing date of Aug 5, purchase date Aug 19
- Oats in most cereals packing date of Sept 1, purchase date Sept 15
- Quaker oats packing Aug 19, purchase Aug 29
- Oats in Cheerios packing Sept 15, purchase Oct 1
- Spring wheat
- freshly baked bakery products, pizza, etc Aug 13 in the midwest, Aug 20 elsewhere
- packaged foods with spring wheat, packing date of Aug 13, purchase date Aug 29
- Barley packing date of Aug 20, purchase date Sept 3
These are tentative dates, subject to change.
The following chodesh information is from Rabbi Yoseph Herman on July 22, 2014.
Based upon the latest bulletin from the US Dep't of Agriculture, the harvest of the Chodosh oats crop is entering its 3rd week. The harvest of the Chodosh wheat and barley crops have not yet started.
The following are advanced estimates of the PURCHASE dates when items may start being Chodosh. These dates are subject to change.
- Oats in Quaker cereals September 1
- Oats in most other cereals September 15
- Oats in Cheerios and other General Mills cereals October 1
- Freshly baked wheat products such as breads, challahs, bagels, pizza August 15 in the Mid West, August 22 in the rest of the US.
- Packaged wheat products September 1
- Pearled barley September 15.
The following chodesh information is from Rabbi Yoseph Herman on July 15, 2014.
The harvest of the Chodosh crops have begun. As of this week 11% of the new oats have been harvested. Based on the experience of previous years, most of the new, Chodosh oats should not reach the cereals until September or later. This is to be confirmed for this year. The spring wheat and barley harvests have not yet begun.
