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 February 2016 – Changes from previous 

requirements in blue

Effective: March 2018

Approved by CMS

Date Issued: 08/22/12

Date Revised: 03/22/18

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: 03/22/18 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 – All immediate containers shall function as a tamper evidence 

indicator to provide added assurance of product integrity through the method 

of sealing or closure. The immediate containers (packages) shall be closed 

by heat seal and may be commercially marked.

221.1.1 2-pound packages – 2-pound immediate containers shall be resealable.
Approved by CMS

Date Issued: 08/22/12

Date Revised: 03/22/18 3

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.

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 Processor shall meet all labeling laws. 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 Product name.

222.2.2 Manufacturer name and address.

222.2.3 Ingredient declaration.

222.2.4 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: Contains ______.

222.2.5 A traceability code that includes information regarding production 

establishment, production date and production lot.

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

222.2.7 Cooking Instructions.

222.2.8 Safe handling instructions.

222.2.9 2-pound packages – Labels for the 2-pound packages shall include at least 

one color, other than black and white, exclusive of the package color. 

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.

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

Date Issued: 08/22/12

Date Revised: 03/22/18 4

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.

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: 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 
Approved by CMS

Date Issued: 08/22/12

Date Revised: 03/22/18 5

(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.

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;
Approved by CMS

Date Issued: 08/22/12

Date Revised: 03/22/18 6

251.9 Contractor certification that product conforms with the applicable specification

(FPPS-CF-2018);

251.10 Count and projected net weight verified and;

251.11 Signature of company official responsible for checkloading.