FSC 8930

 METRIC 

A-A-20371A

February 7, 2017

SUPERSEDING

A-A-20371

July 22, 2014

COMMERCIAL ITEM DESCRIPTION

BUTTER, SUNFLOWER SEED

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has authorized

the use of this Commercial Item Description (CID).

1. SCOPE. This CID covers sunflower seed butter, packed in commercially acceptable 

containers, suitable for use by Federal, State, local governments, and other interested parties. 

Please note: This document does not guarantee purchase of this item by USDA.1

2. PURCHASER NOTES.

2.1 Purchasers must specify the following:

• Style(s), variation(s), agricultural practice(s), and packaging of sunflower seed butter desired 

(Sec. 3).

• When analytical requirements are different than specified (Sec.7.1).

• When compliance with analytical requirements must be verified (Sec. 7.2).

• Manufacturer’s/distributor’s certification (Sec. 10.3) or USDA certification (Sec. 10.4).

2.2 Purchasers may specify the following:

• Food Defense (Sec. 10.1) and Manufacturer’s Quality Assurance (Sec. 10.2). Purchaser may 

specify one of the following combinations: Sec. 10.1.1 with 10.2.1 or 10.1.2 with 10.2.2.

• Packaging requirements other than commercial (Sec. 11).

3. CLASSIFICATION. The sunflower seed butter must conform to the following list which 

must be specified in the solicitation, contract, or purchase order.

 1 USDA purchase specifications are available at: https://www.ams.usda.gov/selling-food/product-specs.
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Styles, variations, agricultural practices, and packaging.

2

Style I - Natural

Variation A - No-stir (homogenized)

Variation B - No added sugar (21 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) § 101.60(c)(2))

Variation C - Crunchy

Variation D - Smooth/creamy (not homogenized)

Variation E - Other (as specified by the purchaser)

Style II - Creamy

Variation A - No-stir (homogenized)

Variation B - Other (as specified by the purchaser)

Style III - Other (as specified by the purchaser)

Agricultural practice 1 - Conventional

Agricultural practice 2 - Organic

Packaging a - 28 gram (g) (1.0 ounce (oz)) cup

Packaging b - 31.2 g (1.1 oz) pouch

Packaging c - 32 g (1.12 oz) cup

Packaging d - 43 g (1.5 oz) cup

Packaging e - 62g (2.2 oz) cup

Packaging f - 227 g (8 oz) jar

Packaging g - 340 g (12 oz) jar

Packaging h - 425 g (15 oz) jar

Packaging i - 454 g (16 oz) jar

Packaging j - 499 g (17.6 oz) jar

Packaging k - 510 g (18 oz) jar

Packaging l - 2.3 kilogram (kg) (5 pound (lb)) pail

Packaging m - 4.1 kg (9 lb) pail

Packaging n - 11.8 kg (26 lb) pail

Packaging o - 15.9 kg (35 lb) pail/box

Packaging p - 227 kg (500 lb) drum

Packaging q - Other (as specified by the purchaser)

4. MANUFACTURER’S/DISTRIBUTOR’S NOTES. Manufacturer’s/distributor’s 

products must meet the requirements of the:

• Processing guidelines (Sec. 5).

• Salient characteristics (Sec. 6).

 2 Not all options are available from every manufacturer. Check with the manufacturer/distributor for availability.
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• Analytical requirements: as specified by the purchaser (Sec. 7).

• Manufacturer’s/distributor’s product assurance (Sec. 8).

• Regulatory requirements (Sec. 9).

• Quality assurance provisions: as specified by the purchaser (Sec. 10).

• Packaging requirements other than commercial: as specified by the purchaser (Sec.11).

5. PROCESSING GUIDELINES.

5.1 Processing. The sunflower seed butter must be processed in accordance with Current Good 

Manufacturing Practice (CGMP) (21 CFR Part 110) or the Current Good Manufacturing 

Practice, Hazard Analysis and Risk-Based Preventive Controls for Human Food (21 CFR Part 

117) in effect on the date of the solicitation, contract, or purchase order, and as applicable to the 

production facility. All food manufacturing, processing, packing, and holding must be 

conducted under such conditions and controls as are necessary to segregate the sunflower seed 

butter from major allergens identified by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the 

Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic (FD&C) Act (see Sec. 9).

5.2 Food defense. The sunflower seed butter must be processed and transported in accordance 

with the FDA’s Guidance for Industry: Food Producers, Processors, and Transporters: Food 

Security Preventive Measures Guidance.

3

 This guidance identifies the kinds of preventive 

measures food manufacturers, processors, or handlers may take to minimize the risk that food 

under their control will be subject to tampering or other malicious, criminal, or terrorist actions. 

The implementation of enhanced food defense preventive measures provides for the security of a 

plant’s production processes and includes the storage and transportation of pre-production raw 

materials, other ingredients, and post-production finished product.

5.3 Organic ingredients. When organic sunflower seed butter is specified in the solicitation, 

contract, or purchase order, the sunflower seed butter must be produced, handled, and labeled in 

accordance with the USDA organic regulations by an operation that is certified organic in 

accordance with the requirements of the National Organic Program (7 CFR Part 205). A 

Certificate of Organic Production or Handling must be provided to verify that the product was 

processed and handled in accordance with the USDA organic regulations.

5.4 Shelf life. Once the sunflower seed butter is packaged, the sunflower seed butter must have 

a remaining shelf life of at least twelve months.

6. SALIENT CHARACTERISTICS.

6.1 Definition of no added sugars. Food contains no added sugar or sugar containing 

ingredients added during processing in accordance with 21 CFR § 101.60(c)(2).

 3 http://www.fda.gov/Food/GuidanceRegulation/GuidanceDocumentsRegulatoryInformation/FoodDefense/ucm083075.htm.
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6.2 Labeling. All ingredients must be declared by their common or usual name in descending 

order of predominance by weight (21 CFR § 101.4(a)) unless exempted by 21 CFR § 101.100.

6.3 Ingredients.

6.3.1 Sunflower seeds. The sunflower seeds used in manufacturing the sunflower seed butter 

must be U.S. No. 2 or better for the U.S. Standards for Sunflower Seed 7 CFR § 810.1801 -

1804.

6.3.2 Sunflower seed butter. The sunflower seed butter must contain a minimum of 90 percent 

sunflower seeds and be prepared by grinding shelled, roasted sunflower seeds. The sunflower 

seed butter may contain additional ingredients, such as, but not limited to, salt, sea salt, 

sweeteners, sunflower pieces, sunflower oil, palm oil and other stabilizing and preservation

ingredients as permitted by the FDA.

6.3.3 Additional ingredients. When used, all additional ingredients must meet the standards 

specified in the Food Chemicals Codex (FCC). In the absence of FCC specifications at a 

minimum, meet the specifications for quality set by the U.S. Pharmacopeia (USP)-National 

Formulary quality. The additional ingredients must be approved for those particular uses by 

FDA’s regulations on food additives (21 CFR Part 170) or Direct Food Substances Affirmed as

Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) requirements (21 CFR Part 184).

6.4 Finished product.

6.4.1 Appearance. Except for Variation A, no-stir (homogenized) creamy sunflower seed 

butter, the sunflower seed butter may have some separation of oil within the product that requires 

slight mixing before use. The Variation A, no-stir (homogenized) creamy sunflower seed butter

must exhibit no noticeable oil separation.

6.4.2 Color. The sunflower seed butter will have a finished product color matching the USDA 

Colors 1 through 4 of the U.S. Standards for Grades of Peanut Butter.

6.4.3 Flavor and aroma. The sunflower seed butter will have a flavor typical of sunflower 

seeds. The sunflower seed butter must be free from any objectionable flavors and odors, such as,

but not limited to, bitter, musty, sour, rancid, sprouty, tallow, or scorched.

6.4.4 Consistency and texture. The creamy sunflower seed butter must spread easily and must

not be too thin or more than slightly stiff. Except for the crunchy styles, the sunflower seed 

butter must have a fine and even texture with no perceptible grainy seed particles. The crunchy 

styles of sunflower seed butter must have a partially grainy texture with a substantial amount of 

seed particles.
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6.5 Aflatoxin. All USDA certified sunflower seed butter must be tested by the Science and 

Technology Program (S&TP), Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), USDA for aflatoxin. The 

aflatoxin content of the finished product will not be greater than 15 parts per billion (ppb) as 

evidenced by an AMS, USDA certificate. When sunflower seed butter is certified by the 

manufacturer, a Certificate of Analysis as verification of aflatoxin testing will be provided by the 

manufacturer. The aflatoxin content of the finished product must not be greater than 15 ppb.

6.6 Foreign material. All ingredients must be clean, sound, wholesome, and free from foreign 

material, such as, but not limited to, extraneous plant material, dirt, stones, plastic, insects, insect 

pieces or rodent or insect infestation.

7. ANALYICAL REQUIREMENTS.

7.1 Analytical and microbiological requirements. Unless otherwise specified in the 

solicitation, contract or purchase order, the analytical and microbiological requirements for the 

sunflower seed butter must conform to those in Table I.

TABLE I. Analytical and microbiological requirements

Test Requirement

Aerobic Plate Count Less than 10,000 Colony Forming Units 

(CFU) per g

Peroxide value Less than 15 milliequivalents (meq) per kg

Yeast and mold Less than 50 CFU per g

Aflatoxin Less than 15 ppb

Moisture Less than 4 percent

Coliform Less than 3 per g using the Most Probable 

Number (MPN) technique or less than 10

CFU per g4

Generic E. coli Less than 3 per g using the MPN technique or 

less than 10 CFU per g4

Salmonella Must be negative

 4 Finds indicate zero tubes producing gas for MPN or zero colonies (CFU) per plate.
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7.2 Analytical verification. Purchaser must specify manufacturer’s/distributor’s certification 

(Sec. 10.3) or USDA certification (Sec. 10.4).

7.3 USDA verification procedures. When USDA certification (Sec. 10.4) is specified in the 

solicitation, contract, or purchase order, analytical and microbiological testing must be 

performed as follows.

7.3.1 Product verification sampling. When USDA verification of analytical and 

microbiological requirements is specified in the solicitation, contract, or purchase order, testing 

must be performed on subsamples of packages randomly selected from the lot. The number of 

subsamples must be based on USDA inspection service sampling procedures and plans (7 CFR §

52.38). The contents of each will be used to create a composite sample for analytical and 

microbiological testing.

7.3.2 Analytical and microbiological testing and reporting. When specified in the 

solicitation, contract, or purchase order, the analyses must be made and reported in accordance 

with the following methods from the AOAC International Official Methods of Analysis (OMA)

or the FDA’s Bacteriological Analytical Manual (BAM)5 as specified below in Table II. Any 

result not conforming to the analytical and microbiological requirements may be cause for 

rejection of the lot.

TABLE II. Analytical and microbiological testing and reporting

Test Method Reported as

Aerobic Plate Count 966.23, 990.12, or BAM Ch 3 Nearest CFU per g

Peroxide value 965.33 Nearest meq per kg

Yeast and mold 997.02 or 995.21 Nearest CFU per g

Aflatoxin 991.31, 998.03, or 999.07 Nearest 1 ppb

Moisture 925.45A Nearest 0.1 percent

Coliform 991.14, 992.30, 966.24, 2000.15, or 

BAM Ch. 4

Nearest MPN or CFU 

per g

Generic E. coli 991.14, 992.30, 966.24, 2000.15, or 

BAM Ch.4

Nearest MPN or CFU 

per g

 5 8th Edition, Revision A, (1998) FDA BAM Online.
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TABLE II. Analytical and microbiological testing and reporting

Test Method Reported as

Salmonella 967.26 or Section C-7, Ch. 5 Positive or negative

8. MANUFACTURER’S/DISTRIBUTOR’S PRODUCT ASSURANCE. The manufacturer/ 

distributor must certify that the sunflower seed butter provided meets the salient characteristics 

of this CID, conform to their own specifications, standards, and quality assurance practices, and 

be the same sunflower seed butter offered for sale in the commercial market. The purchaser 

reserves the right to require proof of conformance.

9. REGULATORY REQUIREMENTS. The delivered sunflower seed butter must comply 

with all applicable Federal and State mandatory requirements and regulations relating to the 

preparation, packaging, labeling, storage, distribution, and sale of the sunflower seed butter in 

the commercial marketplace. Delivered sunflower seed butter must comply with all applicable 

provisions of the FD&C Act, the Fair Packaging and Labeling Act, and regulations promulgated 

thereunder. When an ingredient containing a major allergen identified by FDA is included in the 

sunflower seed butter, the sunflower seed butter must comply with the allergen labeling 

requirements of the FD&C Act. Major allergens identified in the FD&C Act include: wheat, 

fish, milk, soy, tree nuts, eggs, peanuts, and shellfish or those in effect on the date of the 

solicitation, contract, or purchase order. When the sunflower seed butter is used for the National 

School Lunch Program, the sunflower seed butter must comply with all applicable provisions of 

the Child Nutrition (CN) Program. When a CN label is specified, the label must be approved in 

its final format by the USDA, Food and Nutrition Service (FNS).

10. QUALITY ASSURANCE PROVISIONS. Purchaser must specify 10.3 or 10.4. 

Purchaser may specify one of the following combinations: 10.1.1 with 10.2.1, or 10.1.2 with 

10.2.2.

10.1 Food defense. When required in the solicitation, contract, or purchase order, a Food 

Defense Systems Survey (FDSS) must be conducted by USDA, AMS, Specialty Crops Program 

(SCP), Specialty Crops Inspection (SCI) Division. Food defense requirements include a 

documented and operational food defense plan that provides for the security of a plant’s 

production processes and includes the storage and transportation of pre-production raw materials 

and other ingredients and post-production finished product. The plan must address the following 

areas: (1) food security plan management; (2) outside and inside security of the production and 

storage facilities; (3) slaughter, when applicable, and processing, including all raw material 

sources; (4) shipping and receiving; (5) storage; (6) water and ice supply; (7) mail handling; (8) 

personnel security; and (9) transportation, shipping, and receiving.
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10.1.1 FDSS. When required in the solicitation, contract, or purchase order, a FDSS must be 

conducted by USDA, AMS, SCP, SCI Division. The FDSS verifies that operators of food 

establishments have implemented measures to minimize the risk of tampering or other criminal 

actions against the food under their control. An AMS FDSS verifies the participating company’s 

adherence to the FDA’s Guidance for Industry: Food Producers, Processors, and Transporters: 

Food Security Preventive Measures Guidance.6

10.1.2 Food defense section of the Plant Systems Audit (PSA). When required in the 

solicitation, contract, or purchase order, a food defense audit will be conducted as part of the 

PSA. The audit will be conducted by USDA, AMS, SCP, SCI Division auditors. This verifies 

that operators of food establishments have implemented measures to minimize the risk of 

tampering or other criminal actions against the food under their control. The food defense 

section of the PSA verifies the participating company’s adherence to the FDA’s Guidance for 

Industry: Food Producers, Processors, and Transporters: Food Security Preventive Measures 

Guidance.6

10.2 Manufacturer’s quality assurance. When required in the solicitation, contract, or 

purchase order, the product manufacturer will be required to provide evidence, by certificate that 

the manufacturing plant has undertaken one of the following quality assurance measures within 

12 months prior to providing a bid or no later than 10 business days from the date of the 

awarding of the contract. Failure to provide this documentation within the proper time frame 

may result in the contract being terminated for cause.

10.2.1 Plant survey. A plant survey conducted by USDA, AMS, or other survey performed by 

a third party auditing service is required within 12 months prior to the date of the awarding of the 

contract. The plant survey audit verifies that, at the time of the survey, the manufacturer 

produces products in a clean sanitary environment in accordance with CGMP (21 CFR Part 110)

or the Current Good Manufacturing Practice, Hazard Analysis and Risk-Based Preventive 

Controls for Human Food (21 CFR Part 117) in effect on the date of the solicitation, contract, or 

purchase order, and as applicable to the production facility.

10.2.2 PSA. A PSA conducted by USDA, AMS, or other audit performed by a third party 

auditing service is required within 12 months prior to the date of the awarding of the contract. 

The PSA verifies the manufacturer's capability to produce products in a clean sanitary 

environment in accordance with CGMP (21 CFR Part 110) or the Current Good Manufacturing 

Practice, Hazard Analysis and Risk-Based Preventive Controls for Human Food (21 CFR Part 

117) in effect on the date of the solicitation, contract, or purchase order; as applicable to the 

production facility, and verifies that the manufacturer has in place an internal quality assurance 

program.

 6 See footnote 3 on page 3.
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10.3 Manufacturer’s/distributor’s certification. When required in the solicitation, contract, 

or purchase order, the manufacturer/distributor must certify that the sunflower seed butter

delivered meets or exceeds the requirements of this CID. The manufacturer/distributor must 

certify via a Certificate of Conformance or other adequate documentation (as specified by the 

purchaser) that the sunflower seed butter meets the analytical and microbiological requirements 

specified in Sec. 7 of this CID.

10.4 USDA certification. When required in the solicitation, contract, or purchase order that 

product quality and acceptability or both be determined, the USDA, AMS, SCP, SCI Division 

inspectors will be the certifying program. SCI Division inspectors must certify the quality and 

acceptability of the sunflower seed butter in accordance with SCI Division procedures, which 

include selecting random samples of the sunflower seed butter, evaluating the samples for 

conformance with the salient characteristics and analytical requirements of this CID and other 

contractual requirements, and documenting the findings on official SCI Division score sheets 

and/or certificates. In addition, when required in the solicitation, contract, or purchase order, 

SCI Division inspectors will examine the sunflower seed butter for conformance to the U.S. 

Standards for Condition of Food Containers (7 CFR Part 42) in effect on the date of the 

solicitation.

11. PACKAGING. Preservation, packaging, packing, labeling, and case marking must be 

commercial unless otherwise specified in the solicitation, contract, or purchase order.

12. USDA INSPECTION NOTES. When Sec. 10.4 is specified in the solicitation, contract, 

or purchase order, USDA certification must include evaluation of the quality and condition 

of samples of sunflower seed butter and compliance with requirements in the following 

areas:

• Processing guidelines (Sec. 5).

• Salient characteristics (Sec. 6).

• Analytical requirements when specified in the solicitation, contract, or purchase order (Sec.

7). When USDA analytical testing is specified, SCI Division inspection personnel must 

select samples and submit them to the USDA, AMS, Science and Technology Program 

(S&TP) laboratory for analysis.

• Packaging requirements (Sec. 11 or as specified in the solicitation, contract, or purchase 

order).

13. REFERENCE NOTES.

13.1 USDA services.

13.1.1 USDA certification. For USDA certification contact: Associate Director, Inspection 

Operations, SCI Division, SCP, AMS, USDA, Room 1536 South Building, STOP 0240, 1400 
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Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20250-0240, telephone (202) 720-2482, fax 

(202) 720-0393, or via E-mail: Nathaniel.Taylor@ams.usda.gov.

13.1.2 USDA FDSS, plant survey, and PSA. For a USDA FDSS, plant survey, and PSA 

contact the Chief, Audit Services Branch, SCI Division, SCP, AMS, USDA, Room 0711

South Building, STOP 0247, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20250-0247, 

telephone (202) 720-5021, fax (202) 260-8927, or via E-mail: fvaudits@ams.usda.gov.

13.1.3 Analytical testing and technical information. For USDA technical information on 

analytical testing, contact the Laboratory Approval and Testing Division, S&TP, AMS, 

USDA, STOP 0272, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20250-0272, 

telephone (202) 690-0621 or via E-mail: KerryR.Smith@ams.usda.gov.

13.2 Sources of documents.

13.2.1 Sources of information for nongovernmental documents are as follows:

Copies of the AOAC International OMA may be obtained from: AOAC International, 2275 

Research Boulevard, Suite 300, Rockville, MD 20850-3250, telephone (301) 924-7077. 

Internet address: http://www.aoac.org for nonmembers and http://www.eoma.aoac.org for 

members and AOAC OMA subscribers.

Copies of the Food Chemicals Codex and U.S. Pharmacopeia may be purchased from: United 

States Pharmacopeia Convention, 12601 Twinbrook Parkway, Rockville, MD 20877, 

telephone (800) 227-8772 or (301) 881-0666, Fax (301) 816-8148 or on the Internet at: 

http://www.usp.org.

13.2.2 Sources of information for governmental documents are as follows:

Applicable provisions of the U.S. Standards for Condition of Food Containers are contained in 7 

CFR Part 42, the National Organic Program are contained in 7 CFR Part 205, the Child Nutrition 

Programs are contained in 7 CFR Parts 210, 220, 225, 226, and Appendices A and C, the U.S. 

Standards for Sunflower Seeds are container in 7 CFR Parts 800 to 899, the Fair Packaging and 

Labeling Act are contained in 16 CFR Parts 500 to 503, and the Federal Food, Drug, and 

Cosmetic Act are contained in 21 CFR Parts 1 to 199. These documents may be purchased from: 

Superintendent of Documents, New Orders, P.O. Box 979050, St. Louis, MO 63197-9000. 

Credit card (Visa, MasterCard, Discover/ NOVUS, and American Express) purchases may 

be made by calling the Superintendent of Documents on (866) 512-1800, (202) 512-1800. 

These documents may also be obtained free of charge on the Internet at: 

http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/browse/collectionCfr.action?collectionCode=CFR.
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Copies of Guidance for Industry: Food Producers, Processors, and Transporters: Food Security 

Preventive Measures Guidance are available online from: FDA, Center for Food Safety and 

Applied Nutrition (CFSAN) on the Internet at: 

http://www.fda.gov/Food/GuidanceRegulation/GuidanceDocumentsRegulatoryInformation

/FoodDefense/ucm083075.htm.

Copies of the 8th Edition, Revision A (1998) of the FDA BAM are available on line from: FDA, 

Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN) on the Internet at: 

http://www.fda.gov/Food/FoodScienceResearch/LaboratoryMethods/ucm2006949.htm.

Copies of U.S. standards and inspection instructions for fruits, vegetables, and other specialty 

products may be obtained from: USDA, AMS, SCP, SCI Division, 831 Mitten Road, Room 

200, Burlingame, CA 94010, telephone (650) 552-9073, fax (650) 552-9147, or via E-mail: 

depot@ams.usda.gov or on the Internet at:

http://www.ams.usda.gov/grades-standards/how-purchase-equipment-and-visual-aids.

Copies of this CID, the U.S. Standards for Condition of Food Containers (7 CFR Part 42) and 

beneficial comments, recommendations, additions, deletions, clarifications, etc. and any data 

which may improve this CID are available from or provided to: Director, SCI Division, SCP, 

AMS, USDA, SW, STOP 0240, 1400 Independence Avenue, Washington, DC 20250-0240, 

via E-mail: CIDS@ams.usda.gov or on the Internet at: http://www.ams.usda.gov/gradesstandards/cids and https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CFR-2015-title7-vol2/pdf/CFR-2015-

title7-vol2-part42.pdf.

CIVIL AGENCY COORDINATING ACTIVITIES:

DOJ - BOP

HHS - FDA

USDA - SCP

VA - OSS

PREPARING ACTIVITY:

USDA - SCP

Non-Discrimination Policy: In accordance with Federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations 

and policies, the USDA, its Agencies, offices, and employees, and institutions participating in or administering USDA programs are prohibited 

from discriminating based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity (including gender expression), sexual orientation, 

disability, age, marital status, family/parental status, income derived from a public assistance program, political beliefs, or reprisal or retaliation 

for prior civil rights activity, in any program or activity conducted or funded by USDA (not all bases apply to all programs). Remedies and 

complaint filing deadlines vary by program or incident. 

Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication for program information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, American 

Sign Language, etc.) should contact the responsible Agency or USDA's TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TTY) or contact USDA 

through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339. Additionally, program information may be made available in languages other than English. 
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To file a program discrimination complaint, complete the USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form, AD-3027, found online at How to 

File a Program Discrimination Complaint and at any USDA office or write a letter addressed to USDA and provide in the letter all of the 

information requested in the form. To request a copy of the complaint form, call (866) 632-9992. Submit your completed form or letter to USDA 

by: (1) mail: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, 

D.C. 20250-9410; (2) fax: (202) 690-7442; or (3) email: program.intake@usda.gov. 

USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.