Agricultural Marketing Service 

Commodity Procurement Program

P.O. Box 419205, MS 8718 

Kansas City, MO 64141-6205

USDA COMMODITY REQUIREMENTS 

PROCESSED CEREALS

FOR USE IN DOMESTIC PROGRAMS

Effective Date: November 2023

USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer
USDA COMMODITY REQUIREMENTS 

PROCESSED CEREALS

FOR USE IN DOMESTIC PROGRAMS

Table of Contents

Part 1 COMMODITY SPECIFICATIONS 1

Section 1.1 COMMODITIES 1

Section 1.2 WARRANTY_________________________________________________________2

Section 1.3 KOSHER ONLY PRODUCTS 2

Section 1.4 QUALITY ASSURANCE 2

Part 2 CONTAINER AND PACKAGING REQUIREMENTS ________________________3

Section 2.1 GENERAL 3

Section 2.2 COMMERCIALPACKAGING 3

Section 2.3 CONTAINERS AND MATERIALS 3

Section 2.4 MATERIALS_________________________________________________________4
Page 1 of 4

Part 1 COMMODITYSPECIFICATIONS

Section 1.1 COMMODITIES

The commodity delivered shall meet the requirements as specified in the Commercial Item 

Descriptions (CID) asfollows:

A. Cereals, Rolled Oats, Type II, Quick cooking, unflavored – CID A-A-20090H

(December 12, 2023) at 

https://www.ams.usda.gov/sites/default/files/media/AA_20090H_Cereals_Rolled_Oats.

pdf. Oats must conform to Section 6.1.2 of CID A-A-20090H.

B. Cereals, Wheat, Quick-Cooking and Instant, Type I (enriched farina) and Type III 

(rolled wheat) – CID A-A-20108C (April 16, 2008) at 

http://www.ams.usda.gov/sites/default/files/media/CID%20Cereals%2C%20Wheat%2C

%20Quick-Cooking%20and%20Instant.pdf, except as may be augmented as indicated 

below:

Farina – Iron Enrichment Standards

Item Minimum Per 100g Dry Farina

Iron: in form of Ferric Phosphate, mg 28mg*

*Plus or minus two percent (+/- 2%)

C. Bulgur may be of any of the classes of wheat as defined in the “Official United States 

Standards for Grain,” except mixtures of wheat of contrasting classes. The standard is 

available at: https://www.ams.usda.gov/sites/default/files/media/WheatStandards.pdf .

The wheat shall not contain more than 4.0 percent damaged kernels and shall meet the 

requirements as set forth below:

Chemical and Physical Requirements

Item

Requirements1

Minimum Maximum

Moisture -- 11.5%

Protein (N x 5.7)29.3% --

Crude Fiber 2 -- 2.3%

Ash 2 -- 1.8%

Foreign Material: Total3-- 0.2%

Material Except Other Grains4-- 0.05%

Scorched particles (whole or pieces of kernels) -- 0.2%

Ungelatinized particles (whole or pieces of kernels) -- 1.0%

Whole processed kernels remaining on U.S. Standard 

No. 8 Woven-Wire-Cloth Sieve -- 4.0

Material that will pass through U.S. Standard No. 8 

Woven-Wire-Cloth Sieve 80.0 --

1 All percentages are on the basis of weight.

2 These limiting values are on a moisture-free basis.

3 All material other than wheat.

4

Including grain hulls either attached or detached. Any hulls attached to product should be detached before inclusion in the hull fraction.
Page 2 of 4

Material that will pass through U.S. Standard No. 

14 Woven-Wire-Cloth Sieve -- 18.0

Material that will pass through U.S. Standard No. 30 

Woven-Wire-Cloth Sieve -- 0.9

D. All wheat shall be tested for vomitoxin in accordance with procedures approved by 

Federal Grain Inspection Service (FGIS). Any wheat testing higher than 2 parts per 

million (p.p.m.) shall not be used in production of the commodity. The final product 

shall not contain more than 1 p.p.m. of vomitoxin.

Section 1.2 WARRANTY

The product shall have a shelf life of at least one year from date of manufacture. Product shall 

not be manufactured more than 30 days prior to shipping.

Section 1.3 “KOSHER ONLY”PRODUCTS

Occasionally, USDA solicits offers to sell Kosher products that comply with applicable 

dietary (kosher) laws as established by the “613 Council of Kashruth.” Such products 

are identified on the solicitation with the letter “K” incorporated into the WBSCM 

material descriptions. Manufacturing plants shall be certified for compliance with the 

requirement by contacting the Board of Jewish Education of Greater New York 

(BJENY) at 646-472-5368. Additional information regarding practices and protocols 

required for kosher certified production for BJENY schools can be found at the following 

link: BJENY Kosher Resource (usda.gov). 

At no cost to the vendor, a rabbinic supervisor will be sent to certify compliance of the 

manufacturing plant with the dietary (kosher) laws. Vendors must not bid on these 

purchase units unless they can be properly certified. Kosher products purchased solely 

for the #613 Council of Kashruth do not require a symbol on the primary or secondary 

container.

Section 1.4 QUALITY ASSURANCE

A. The contractor shall perform the product testing and quality analysis to ensure that the 

product meets the commodity specifications on a quarterly basis. Testing must follow 

the requirements listed in Section 7.1 of CID A-A-20090H , with the following 

exception:

• Analytical testing of sodium is not required. 

The results shall be evidenced by a Certificate of Analysis (COA). The COA shall be 

maintained by the contractor. USDA requires the contractor to retain the COA for a 

minimum of seven years from the date of issuance. If quality discounts are 

provided in the contract, and the product to be delivered by the contractor falls 

within the quality discount table, those factors shall be identified by an asterisk on 

the copies of the COA.

B. Contractors shall notify the Government immediately of lots that fail to meet contract 

requirements.
Page 3 of 4

Part 2 CONTAINERANDPACKAGINGREQUIREMENTS

Section 2.1 GENERAL

This part provides the container specifications and packaging materials requirements used 

under this contract.

Section 2.2 COMMERCIAL PACKAGING

A. Contractors shall supply commercial brand products only and shall certify at the time of 

submission of an offer that the commercial product being delivered has a history ofsuccessful 

distribution and use in domestic commercial channels and is sold on the commercial market 

with an established level of consumeracceptance.

B. Container and packaging requirements are those used in the current commercial shipping 

practices and shall complywith:

(1) At contractor’s option, a statement such as “Not for Retail Sale” may be printed on the 

principal display panel of the food label.

(2) The manufacturer’s lot code/lot identification number shall be shown on the 

commercial bill of lading.

(3) Shipping containers shall be marked to show the maximum safe stacking height. It is the 

responsibility of the contractor in cooperation with the shipping container manufacturers to 

determine the safe stacking height.

(4) For identification upon receipt at delivery warehouses, all commercial labeled product 

shipping documents shall specify “FOR USDA FOOD DISTRIBUTION 

PROGRAMS.”

C. Container, packaging, and unitization requirements shall comply with Section 

4A52.211-3, 4A52.211-4, and 4A52.211-6 in the Master Solicitation for Commodity 

Procurement-Domestic Programs which is available at 

https://www.ams.usda.gov/sites/default/files/media/MSCP.pdf

Section 2.3 CONTAINERS ANDMATERIALS

A. All containers and packaging shall be constructed to meet the requirements of the 

Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for safe contact with the packaged product. 

The contractor shall obtain and maintain documentation from the container or 

packaging material manufacturer to verify that the containers and packaging 

materials used in this contract were in compliance with the Government’s regulatory 

requirements for safe contact with food products as required in the Master 

Solicitation, Part 3, Section A, Number 3.

B. Questions concerning the containers and materials should be directed to the 

specialist identified as responsible for this product. A list of AMS 

Commodity Procurement Staff assignments and contact info can be found at: 

https://www.ams.usda.gov/sites/default/files/media/AMSCommodityProcure

mentStaffContactList.pdf

C. If the contractor purchases packaging and container ingredients from a foreign 

country and/or the package and container is manufactured in a foreign country, the 

package and container SHALL NOT display country of origin labeling. Phrases 

similar to but not inclusive of, “Made in [Name of Foreign Country.]” or “Productof 

[Name of Foreign Country.]” are strictly prohibited.
Page 4 of 4

Section 2.4 MATERIALS

Material Code Product Description Cases Per Truck Net Weight Per Truck

110880

Cereal, Wheat Farina, 

Enriched- 10/18 oz pkg 3,400 cases/truck 38,250 lbs.

111074

Oats, Rolled, Quick 

Cooking- 12/18 oz pkg 2,240 cases/truck 30,240 lbs.

100465

Oats, Rolled, Quick 

Cooking- 12/42 oz pkg 1,040 cases/truck 32,760 lbs.