Approved by_________ KP 

Date Issued: 04/01/09 

Date Revised: 07/17/12

100 ITEM DESCRIPTION 

110 Bison stew must contain discernible chunks of bison, carrots and potatoes in gravy. One 

additional vegetable is permitted. 

120 Fat/Sodium - Fat must not exceed 5 g per 100 g basis. Sodium level will not exceed 415 

mg per 100 g basis. 

130 Packaging/Packing - Individual cans of bison stew will have a net weight of 24 ounces. 

Twenty-four cans will be unitized to a net weight of 36 pounds. 

200 CHECKLIST OF REQUIREMENTS 

210 Bison stew must be produced from bison harvested in, and the finished product shall be 

prepared and handled in, an establishment(s) operating under the Voluntary Exotic 

Animal Inspection Program of the USDA, Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) and 

must comply with the Sanitation Performance Standards provisions of 9 CFR 416.1-

416.6. The contractor’s technical proposal, submitted to the COTR, must adhere to the 

following checklist of requirements.

300 MATERIALS 

310 The contractor’s technical proposal must include procedures to address conformance 

with the following material requirements: 

320 MEAT COMPONENT 

321 Bison shall be the only meat component allowed and shall be processed so that there 

are discernible chunks in the finished product. 

322 Domestic Origin of Meat Component – Bison must originate from U.S. produced livestock 

as described in this Supplement. 

 

ITEM DESCRIPTION AND CHECKLIST OF 

REQUIREMENTS (IDCR) FOR CANNED 

BISON STEW

Contracting Officer Technical Representative (COTR) 

Livestock and Seed Program, Standardization Division 

Room 2607 S-Bldg, Phone: (202) 260-8295 

Effective: July 2012
Approved by_________ KP 

Date Issued: 04/01/09 

Date Revised: 07/17/12 2

323 Harvesting – Bison will be harvested in facilities that comply with the following 

requirements: 

323.1 Humane Handling – All bison destined to provide meat for this IDCR shall be humanely 

handled in accordance with all applicable FSIS regulations and AMS requirements. 

323.2 Spinal Cord Removal – Remove all spinal cord material during the harvesting process. 

324 Boneless Bison – Boneless bison must comply with the following requirements: 

324.1 Traceability – Contractors are responsible for providing sufficient product traceability and 

must have records to verify the source of raw materials used in each production lot. 

324.2 Handling – All boneless bison must be maintained in excellent condition. The 

contractor’s technical proposal will include detailed time and temperature controls 

necessary to maintain excellent condition of the boneless bison. Frozen boneless bison 

may be used provided it is processed into the final product within 60 days from the date 

of pack. 

324.3 Pathogen Testing - Production lots of boneless bison associated with positive pathogen 

test results will not be allowed. 

324.5 Objectionable Materials - The following objectionable materials shall be excluded: 

324.5.1 Major lymph glands (prefemoral, popliteal, and prescapular), thymus gland, sciatic 

(ischiatic) nerve, internal fat (kidney, pelvic, and heart fat). All bone, cartilage, shoulder 

tendon, elbow tendon, silver skin, sacrociatic ligament, opaque periosteum, serous

membrane (peritoneum), tendinous ends of shanks, gracilis membrane, patellar ligament 

(associated with the stifle joint), achilles tendon, back strap and abdominal tunic. 

325 Mechanically Separated – Boneless bison must comply with the following: 

325.1 Meat that is mechanically separated from bone with automatic deboning systems or 

advanced meat (lean) recovery (AMR) systems is not allowed. 

325.2 Finely Textured Meat – Low temperature rendered meat that is processed from fat 

boneless meat trimmings and is finely textured is not allowed. 

330 VEGETABLE COMPONENT 

331 Carrots and potatoes must be the primary vegetables as listed on the ingredient 

statement. One additional vegetable is permitted. All vegetables shall be of size so that 

they are discernible in the finished product. 

332 All vegetables and other significant ingredients (more than one percent) shall be derived 

from U.S. produced products. 
Approved by_________ KP 

Date Issued: 04/01/09 

Date Revised: 07/17/12 3

340 OTHER INGREDIENT COMPONENTS 

341 Seasonings and ingredients used for flavoring and gravy must be similar to those 

normally used for commercially marketed bison stew. 

342 Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) – MSG is not allowed.

350 METAL DETECTION 

351 All products shall 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. 

400 FINISHED PRODUCT LIMITATIONS 

410 The declared fat and sodium content and the serving size (“referenced amounts 

customarily consumed” (racc)) will be stated on the nutrition facts panel on each can 

label according to FSIS regulations. 

420 FAT CONTENT 

421 The fat content must not exceed 5 percent (no more than 5 g per 100 g basis). Declared 

fat content will be stated on the nutrition facts panel on each can label according to FSIS 

nutritional labeling regulations. 

Percent fat = (Total fat ÷ Serving Size) x 100 

430 SODIUM CONTENT 

431 Sodium level must not exceed 415mg per 100g basis. 

500 PREPARATION FOR DELIVERY 

510 PACKAGING AND PACKING 

511 Individual cans of bison stew will have a net weight of 24 ounces. Twenty-four cans will 

be unitized to a net weight of 36 pounds. Each delivery unit will consist of 1,000 shipping 

containers with a net weight of 36,000 pounds. 

512 All cans will be unitized by packing into new fiberboard shipping containers, placing on 

fiberboard trays with plastic shrink wrap or plastic shrink wrap only. Only one size and 

style of unitized containers may be offered in an individual shipping unit. 
Approved by_________ KP 

Date Issued: 04/01/09 

Date Revised: 07/17/12 4

520 LABELING*

521 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: 

522 Immediate Container Label – Immediate containers will include the following information: 

522.1 A traceability code that is traceable to the establishment number, production lot and date. 

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

523 Shipping Containers – Shipping containers will include the following information: 

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

principle display panel.

 

523.2 Applicable purchase order number. 

523.3 A traceability code that is traceable to the establishment number, production lot and date 

523.4 Nutrition facts panel based on actual nutritional analysis of the product. 

523.5 The product name – Canned Bison Stew. 

523.6 Material number – 100135. 

523.7 Ingredient declaration. 

523.8 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 ______. 

*Commercial labeling (Brand “X”) of immediate and shipping containers is permissible. 
Approved by_________ KP 

Date Issued: 04/01/09 

Date Revised: 07/17/12 5

530 PALLETIZED UNIT LOADS 

531 All product shall be stacked on new or well-maintained pallets and palletized with shrink 

wrap plastic, unless otherwise specified in the invitation. 

532 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 principle 

display panel to facilitate product identification and certification examinations. 

540 SEALING 

541 All products must be delivered to AMS destinations under seal with tamper proof, tamper 

resistant, serially numbered, high security seals that meet the American Society for 

Testing and Materials Standard F 1157-04 as required under the AMS Master 

Solicitation. 

600 PRODUCT ASSURANCE 

610 WARRANTY AND COMPLAINT RESOLUTION 

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

requirements, technical proposal declarations, and provisions required under the 

applicable supplement. 

612 Complaint Resolution – Customer complaint resolution procedures will be included in the 

technical proposal. These procedures will include: a point of contact, investigation steps, 

intent to cooperate with AMS, and product replacement or monetary compensation. The 

procedures will be used to resolve product complaints from recipient agencies or AMS. 

620 NON CONFORMING PRODUCT 

621 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 

Standardization Division of final disposition (e.g., diverted to commercial production, 

cooked product or destroyed).