APPROVED

FEDERAL PURCHASE 

PROGRAM SPECIFICATION 

(FPPS) FOR CATFISH 

FILLETS, UNBREADED, 

RAW, FROZEN

Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS)

Livestock, Poultry and Seed (LPS) Program 

Food Safety and Commodity Specification (FSCS) Division

Room 2628 S-Bldg, Phone: (202) 692-0342

Supersedes: FPPS for Catfish Fillets, Unbreaded, Raw, 

Frozen March 2015 – Changes from previous 

requirements in blue

Effective: February 2016

Approved by________CMS 

Date Issued: 08/22/12 

Date Revised: 02/05/16

100 ITEM DESCRIPTION 

110 Freshwater Catfish Fillets, Unbreaded, Raw, Frozen 

120 Portion Weight – The target portion weight for catfish fillets shall be 4.0 

ounces. 

130 Packing – The catfish fillets shall be packaged in four (4) 10-pound, five (5) 8-

pound, eight (8) 5-pound or twenty (20) 2-pound immediate containers 

(packages) and placed into shipping containers weighing 40 pounds. 

140 Delivery Unit – Each delivery unit shall consist of 950 shipping containers with 

a net weight of 38,000 pounds. 

200 CHECKLIST OF REQUIREMENTS 

201 Product shall be produced under the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), 

Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) regulations and the AMS checklist 

of requirements. 

210 MATERIALS 

210.1 Contractors’ technical proposal shall describe in detail the necessary 

processing steps, supported with digital images, to comply with the 

requirements below. 

211 FISH FLESH 

211.1 Domestic Origin of Fish Flesh – The catfish shall be harvested from 

commercial, U.S. farm-raised freshwater catfish of the Ictaluridae family: 

channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus), blue catfish (Ictalurus furcatus), and 

white catfish (Ictalurus catus)) and its hybrids. 
Approved by________CMS 

Date Issued: 08/22/12 

Date Revised: 02/05/16 2 

211.2 Fresh Only – Only fresh (not previously frozen) catfish shall be allowed. 

211.3 Flesh Characteristics – The catfish flesh shall have characteristics of good 

quality, including, but not limited to, flavor, texture, and odor and shall be 

evaluated during the prototype review. 

211.4 Fillets – The end item shall consist of trimmed catfish shank fillets (without 

belly-flap section). 

211.5 Objectionable Materials – The contractor shall identify and develop a strategy 

and have a written quality plan to effectively remove all bones, skin, organs, 

tails, fins, and foreign materials. 

211.6 Catfish injected with added ingredients is prohibited. 

212 FINISHED PRODUCT REQUIREMENTS 

212.1 Portion Weight – During production, target portion weight for catfish fillets 

shall be 4.0 ounces. Quality assurance plans shall apply upper and lower 

specification limits of 5.0 and 3.0 ounces, respectively. 

212.2 Individually Quick Frozen (IQF) – The catfish fillets shall be IQF so the 

individual fillets do not stick together. Glazing, in accordance with USDA

requirements, is permitted. The product temperature at the time of shipment 

and delivery shall not exceed 0°F. 

213 PREPARATION/COOKING METHODS 

213.1 Handling, preparation and cooking instructions for the end user shall be 

declared and appear on individual bags (immediate container). 

214 METAL DETECTION 

214.1 Detection of stainless steel, ferrous, and non-ferrous (e.g., lead, copper, and 

aluminum) metals is required. The equipment, location, detection procedure, 

sensitivity levels, frequency of equipment validation, and corrective action 

procedures shall be identified and described. 

220 PREPARATION FOR DELIVERY 

221 PACKAGING AND PACKING 

221.1 Packaging – The immediate containers (packages) shall be closed by heat 

seal. 

221.2 Packing1/ – Four (4) 10-pound, five (5) 8-pound, eight (8) 5-pound or twenty 

(20) 2-pound packages shall be packed in a 40-pound (net weight) shipping 

container. 

1/The contracting officer shall designate the packaging orientation permitted for each solicitation. 
Approved by________CMS 

Date Issued: 08/22/12 

Date Revised: 02/05/16 3 

221.3 Shipping Container - The shipping containers (cases) shall be in compliance 

with the National Motor Freight Classification or Uniform Freight 

Classification. 

221.4 Style and Size of Container – Only one size and style of immediate and 

shipping container shall be offered in an individual shipping unit. 

222 LABELING 

222.1 Both immediate and shipping containers shall be labeled to include all 

information required by FSIS regulations, be illustrated in the contractor’s 

technical proposal and contain the required information listed below. 

222.2 Immediate Container – The following information shall be on each bag: 

222.2.1 A traceability code that includes information regarding production 

establishment, production date and production lot. 

222.2.2 Nutrition facts based on actual nutritional analysis of the product. 

222.2.3 Cooking Instructions. 

222.3 Shipping Container –The following information shall be on each case: 

222.3.1 USDA Shield – The shield shall be at least 2 inches high and appear on top or 

on the principal display panel of each case. 

 

222.3.2 The applicable purchase order number. 

222.3.3 A traceability code that includes information regarding production 

establishment, production date and production lot. 

222.3.4 Nutrition facts based on actual nutritional analysis of the product. 

222.3.5 Cooking Instructions (optional). 

222.3.6 Material Number – 110390. 

222.3.7 Product name – Catfish Fillets, Unbreaded, Raw, Frozen. 
Approved by________CMS 

Date Issued: 08/22/12 

Date Revised: 02/05/16 4 

222.3.8 An allergen statement in a format which complies with the Food Allergen 

Labeling and Consumer Protection Act (FALCPA) for any product which 

contains milk, eggs, fish, crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, soy or 

wheat; e.g. Allergen: This product contains ______. 

223 PALLETIZED UNIT LOADS 

223.1 All product shall be stacked on new or well-maintained pallets and palletized 

with shrink wrap plastic, unless otherwise specified in the invitation. Pallet 

loads shall be stacked in a manner that minimizes the overhang of the 

shipping containers over the edges of the pallets and exposes each shipping 

container’s principal display panel to facilitate certification examinations. 

230 PRODUCT ASSURANCE 

231 QUALITY ASSURANCE 

231.1 Facilities used in fulfilling USDA contracts shall operate in accordance with all 

applicable FSIS regulations. All catfish fillets (frozen) shall be produced under 

continuous FSIS inspection 

232 DELIVERED PRODUCT 

232.1 Delivery Unit - Each delivery unit shall consist of 950 shipping containers with 

a net weight of 38,000 pounds. 

232.2 Sealing –All products shall be delivered to AMS assigned destinations under 

seal with tamper proof, tamper resistant, serially numbered, high security 

seals that meet the American Society for Testing and Materials Standard 

(ASTM) F 1157-04 and/or the International Organization for Standards (ISO) 

17712-2010 as required under this Supplement. Seals shall be >1⁄8th inch 

diameter cable, high-security bolt, or equivalent. 

233 WARRANTY AND COMPLAINT RESOLUTION 

233.1 Warranty – The contractor shall guarantee that the product complies with all 

contractual requirements. 

233.2 Complaint Resolution – The contractor’s technical proposal shall provide the 

steps taken to resolve complaints received on the product, i.e., point of 

contact, cause and effect analysis, product replacement, monetary 

compensation and corrective and preventative actions taken. 
Approved by________CMS 

Date Issued: 08/22/12 

Date Revised: 02/05/16 5 

240 NON-CONFORMING PRODUCT 

241.1 The contractor shall include a plan and supporting documentation to assure 

that non-conforming product is not delivered under USDA contracts. The plan 

shall address 1) control and segregation of non-conforming product, 2) 

removal of any USDA markings, and 3) disposition of non-conforming 

product, including vendor documentation of final disposition (e.g., diverted to 

commercial production, cooked or destroyed). 

250 CONTRACTOR CHECKLOADING 

251 Contractor shall perform checkloading examinations at the time of shipment 

and issue a contractor’s certificate to accompany each shipment that includes 

all of the following information: 

251.1 Purchase Order Number/Purchase Order Line Item Number; 

251.2 Sales Order Number/Sales Order Line Item Number; 

251.3 Destination of shipment; 

251.4 Name of Product and applicable Material Number; 

251.5 Shipping Date; 

251.6 Production lot number(s) and date each lot was produced along with shipping 

container and immediate container code(s) and the code used that provides 

traceability to establishment number, production lot and date; 

251.7 Count of shipping containers and total projected net weight in each production 

lot; 

251.8 Identity of car or truck (car numbers and letters, seals, truck license, etc.) as 

applicable; 

251.9 Contractor certification that product conforms with the applicable specification 

(FPPS-CF-2016); 

251.10 Count and projected net weight verified and; 

251.11 Signature of company official responsible for checkloading.