What is ‘Yoshon’?
The Korban HaOmer which was brought in the Beis HaMikdosh on the second day of Pesach, allowed the grain grown that year to be eaten. Until the Omer was brought, all newly grown grain remained assur. Today, new grain is allowed from the 17th of Nissan onward.
This grain in question was only of the chameshes haminim — wheat, barley, oats, spelt and rye. Any of the grains that did not take root before the Omer was brought are considered Chodosh and remain forbidden until the next year’s Omer, after which they become Yoshon and fully muttar.
There is a long-standing halachic debate whether the issur of Chodosh outside Eretz Yisroel is d’Oraisa or d’Rabbonon. The widely accepted halachic baseline in many kehillos is that grain may be assumed to be Yoshon unless there is a clear indication that it derives from the new crop.
Nonetheless, many choose to be machmir to ensure that all grain ingredients are verified as Yoshon and refraining from products that may contain Chodosh until after the following Pesach.
Which products are affected?
In the UK and the northern hemisphere, from Pesach – Succos each year, products containing ingredients of these grains is automatically all Yoshon. The problematic new spring grain is harvested after the summer and only begins to be used by some manufacturers in September and later in the year; in the case of flour, this can be as late as January. Chodosh in the form of retail products often may only be sold by retail outlets from October and onward.
How this applies to the UK market
- Winter crops are sown in autumn and harvested after Pesach → always Yoshon.
- Spring crops (common in Canada, Latvia, Russia, Scandinavia) that are sown in the late spring i.e. after Pesach, and harvested in the autumn → therefore often Chodosh until the next Pesach.
Some UK flour mills routinely blend some Canadian spring wheat into UK wheat for strong flour products, which may affect Yoshon status.
Ingredients in other products
Grain can appear in many forms beyond whole grain, flakes, or flour, including malt, dextrose, glucose, ethanol, vinegar, yeast extract, and other grain-derived ingredients.
Besides the obvious bread, cake, and biscuit-type products, this can affect savoury snacks such as seasoned nuts and popcorn, liquorice, beer, oat milk, malt vinegar and mustards, barbecue sauces, ketchup, marinades; couscous and bulgur; some baby foods and many more.