APPROVED

FEDERAL PURCHASE 

PROGRAM SPECIFICATION 

(FPPS) FOR PORK LOIN 

CHOPS, CENTER CUT, 

BONELESS, 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

Effective: January 2015

Approved by CMS

Date Issued: 04/26/13

Date Revised: 01/29/15

100 ITEM DESCRIPTION

110 Pork Loin Chops, Center Cut, Boneless, Frozen – This item is as described in 

the Institutional Meat Purchase Specifications (IMPS) Item Number 1413 PSO 

1. Individual boneless chops shall not be marinated and weigh four (4) oz. 

(114g) +/- one-half (1⁄2) oz. (14g), exhibit a tail length of ≤ one (1) in. (26mm) 

and be frozen prior to packaging.

200 APPLICABLE DOCUMENTS

210 IMPS for Fresh Pork - Series 400, effective November 2014.

300 CHECKLIST OF REQUIREMENTS 

310 All items must be produced in accordance with Food Safety and Inspection 

Service (FSIS) regulations. The contractor’s technical proposal, submitted to 

the FSCS Division, must adhere to the following AMS Checklist of

Requirements.

400 MATERIALS 

410 The contractor’s technical proposal must include procedures to address 

conformance with the following material requirements.

420 MEAT COMPONENT 

421 Pork derived from hog carcasses will be the only meat component allowed.

Pork derived from boar and sow carcasses is not permissible.

422 Domestic Origin – All pork will originate from U.S. produced livestock as defined 

in the Master Solicitation and Supplement.
Approved by CMS

Date Issued: 04/26/13

Date Revised: 01/29/15 2

423 Harvesting – Hogs will be harvested in facilities that comply with the 

following requirements: 

423.1 Humane Handling – Hogs will be humanely handled in accordance with all 

applicable FSIS regulations and AMS requirements. 

423.2 Non-Ambulatory Disabled Animals – Meat from carcasses of non-ambulatory 

disabled livestock will not be included in USDA Purchase Programs.

423.3 Spinal Cord Removal – All spinal cord tissue will be removed during the 

harvesting process. 

424 Pork – Pork must comply with the following requirements:

424.1 Traceability – Contractors are responsible for providing sufficient product 

traceability and must have records to verify the source of raw materials used in 

each lot of product. 

424.2 Handling – All pork must be maintained in excellent condition. The contractor’s 

technical proposal shall include detailed production scheduling that addresses 

time and temperature controls necessary to maintain excellent condition of the 

pork. 

424.3 Lean Quality – Fresh-chilled pork must be reasonably uniform in color (slightly 

two-tone color is permissible) ranging from light pink to red. The pork muscles 

must not exhibit any evidence of pale, soft, and/or exudative conditions.

424.4 Objectionable Materials – Pork will be free of skin, bone, cartilage, organ 

tissue, significant glandular tissue, heavy connective tissue and foreign 

materials.

425 Mechanical Separation – Pork that is mechanically separated from bone with 

automatic deboning systems or powered knives will not be allowed.

500 PROCESSING 

510 The contractor’s technical proposal shall describe the necessary processing 

steps (including pictures) to comply with the items below.

511 Processing Date – Pork chops will be processed into finished product form no 

more than 30 days prior to shipment.

512 Pork chops will be produced as outlined in Section 100 – Item Descriptions

and as defined in IMPS Item Number 1413, PSO 1.

513 To facilitate portioning into chops, pork loins may be frozen and/or tempered, 

one time only.
Approved by CMS

Date Issued: 04/26/13

Date Revised: 01/29/15 3

514 Weight – Individual pork chops shall weigh four (4) oz. (114g) +/- one-half 

(1⁄2) oz. (14g). 

516 Tail Length – Individual pork chops shall exhibit a tail length of ≤ one (1) in. 

(26 mm).

530 METAL DETECTION 

531 All products will be free of metal contaminants. Detection of stainless steel, 

ferrous, and non-ferrous (e.g., lead, copper, and aluminum) metals is required. 

The contractor's technical proposal must identify and describe the equipment, 

location, detection procedure, sensitivity levels, frequency of equipment 

validation, and corrective action procedures. 

600 FINISHED PRODUCT LIMITATIONS 

610 The declared serving size, fat content and sodium level will be stated on the 

nutrition facts panel on each label according to FSIS nutritional labeling 

regulations. 

610 FAT

611 The fat content of the finished product will not exceed 10 percent.

611.1 ((Declared Fat (g) / Declared Serving Size (g; reference amount customarily 

consumed (racc))) X 100) ≤ 10 percent.

612 External (subcutaneous) fat thickness of individual pork loin chops will be an 

average of one-eighth (1⁄8) in. (3 mm) with the maximum thickness at any one 

point not to exceed one-quarter (1⁄4) in. (6mm).

620 SODIUM

621 Sodium level must not exceed 70mg per 100 gram basis

622 ((Declared Sodium Level (mg) X 100) / Declared Serving Size (g; racc)) ≤ 70. 

700 STATE OF REFRIGERATION

710 Pork chops will be frozen to an internal temperature of not higher than 0°F (-

17.8°C) within 72 hours from the time of final fabrication of the production lot.

800 PREPARATION FOR DELIVERY 

810 PACKAGING 

811 Four (4) pork chops shall be placed into a flexible immediate container and 

vacuum packaged to a net weight of one (1) pound.
Approved by CMS

Date Issued: 04/26/13

Date Revised: 01/29/15 4

812 Individual pork chops shall be prepared in a manner (e.g. individually quick 

frozen (IQF) or inter-leaving) which prevents them from sticking together after 

they are packaged and packed. 

820 PACKING

821 Forty (40) immediate containers shall be placed into a shipping container to a 

net weight of 40 pounds.

830 LABELING

831 The shipping containers shall be in compliance with the National Motor Freight 

Classification, or the Uniform Freight Classification, as applicable. Both the 

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 following information:

832 Immediate Container Labels – Immediate container labels will be commercially 

labeled (e.g. “Brand X”) and contain the following information:

832.1 A “Best-If-Used-By” date that is 180 calendar days from the date of production.

832.2 A nutrition facts panel based on actual nutritional analysis of the product.

832.3 A traceability code that is traced back to establishment number, production lot, 

and date. 

832.4 Safe handling instructions.

832.5 Ingredient declaration (including single ingredient products).

832.6 Cooking instructions.

833 Shipping Container Labels – Shipping container labels will contain the following 

information:

833.1 USDA shield at least 2 inches high and appearing on the top of the container or 

on the principal display panel.

833.2 Applicable purchase order number.

833.3 A traceability code that is traced back to establishment number, production lot, 

and date.
Approved by CMS

Date Issued: 04/26/13

Date Revised: 01/29/15 5

833.4 A nutrition facts panel based on actual nutritional analysis of the product. 

833.5 Material number: 110380

833.6 Product Name: Pork Loin Chops, Boneless, Center Cut, Frozen

833.7 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 ______.

840 CLOSURE

841 Shipping containers will be closed by strapping, taping or gluing. When 

strapping is used, the initial closure (usually the bottom of container) shall be 

secured by the gluing or taping method.

850 PALLETIZED UNIT LOADS 

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

with shrink wrap plastic, unless otherwise specified in the solicitation. 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.

900 DELIVERY UNIT 

910 Each delivery unit will consist of 950 cases and 38,000 pounds.

1000 DELIVERED PRODUCT 

1010 SIZE AND STYLE OF CONTAINER 

1011 Only one size and style of immediate and shipping containers may be offered in 

an individual shipping unit.

1020 TEMPERATURE 

1021 All products will not exceed 0°F at the time of shipment and delivery.

1030 SEALING 

1031 Sealing - All products must 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 the Master Solicitation. Seals shall be >1⁄8th inch diameter 

cable, high-security bolt, or equivalent.
Approved by CMS

Date Issued: 04/26/13

Date Revised: 01/29/15 6

1100 PRODUCT ASSURANCE

1110 WARRANTY AND COMPLAINT RESOLUTION

1111 Warranty – The contractor will guarantee that the product complies with all 

contractual requirements required under the Master Solicitation and the 

Supplement.

1112 Complaint Resolution – The contractor’s technical proposal must provide steps 

taken to resolve complaints received on the product (i.e. point of contact, cause 

and effect analysis, corrective and preventative actions taken, and product 

replacement).

1120 NON-CONFORMING PRODUCT

1121 The contractor must have documented procedures that assure nonconforming 

product identification, segregation, and disposition in order to prevent misuse 

and that nonconforming product is not delivered to USDA. The plan must 

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

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

vendor notification in writing to the FSCS Division of final disposition 

(e.g., diverted to commercial production, or destroyed).

1130 CONTRACTOR CHECKLOADING

1131 Contractor will 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:

1131.1 Purchase Order Number/Purchase Order Line Item Number;

1131.2 Sales Order Number/Sales Order Line Item Number;

1131.3 Destination of shipment;

1131.4 Name of Product and applicable Material Number;

1131.5 Shipping Date;

1131.6 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;

1131.7 Count of shipping containers and total projected net weight in each production 

 lot;

1131.8 Identity of car or truck (car numbers and letters, seals, truck license, etc.) as 

 applicable;
Approved by CMS

Date Issued: 04/26/13

Date Revised: 01/29/15 7

1131.9 Contractor certification that product conforms with the applicable 

 specification (FPPS-PLC-2015);

1131.10 Count and projected net weight verified and;

1131.11 Signature of company official responsible for checkloading.