Approved by CMS

Date Issued: 06/12/08

Date Revised: 08/03/17

SUPPLEMENT 210 TO THE 

AMS MASTER SOLICITATION

FOR THE PURCHASE OF 

MISCELLANEOUS BEEF 

ITEMS FOR DISTRIBUTION 

TO FEDERAL FOOD AND 

NUTRITION ASSISTANCE 

PROGRAMS

 APPROVED

Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS)

Livestock, Poultry and Seed (LPS) Program

Food Safety and Commodity Specification (FSCS) Division

Room 2624 S-Bldg, Phone: (202) 692-0342

Supersedes: Supplement 210 April 2016 – Changes from 

previous requirements in blue 

Effective: August 2017

100 Overview

110 This document provides additional program requirements for the purchase of Frozen 

Beef Roasts and Diced Beef by the Department of Agriculture (USDA), including the 

applicable Federal Purchase Program Specification (FPPS) (Exhibit A and A1).

200 INSTRUCTIONS TO POTENTIAL SUPPLIERS

210 The frozen beef roasts and diced beef shall be purchased on a competitive bid basis

from qualified suppliers who have met the requirements described in this Section. 

Interested suppliers may submit a production plan at any time during the purchase

program. Suppliers should allow 10 working days, from USDA’s receipt of the

production plan for notification of evaluation results. A supplier is deemed eligible upon 

notification of approval of the production plan by the Food Safety and Commodity 

Specification (FSCS) Division.

220 Submission of a production plan is not binding on USDA. Actual purchases shall be 

described in the AMS Master Solicitation for Commodity Procurements and 

Solicitations.

230 Documentation Requirements

231 Production Plan Requirement

231.1 Include a description of the products offered and each of the production steps that are 

taken to meet or exceed the minimum product requirements set forth in the FPPS. 

(Plan/Do)

231.2 Describe all the quality assurance methods used to verify conformance to all 

requirements. This shall include the monitoring and measurements taken during the 

process to verify conformance with each requirement. All measurement results shall 

be recorded and made available to AMS. (Check)
Approved by CMS

Date Issued: 06/12/08

Date Revised: 08/03/17

231.3 Identify all corrective actions to be taken if deviations from contractual and FPPS 

requirements occur during production, and all preventative actions to be taken to 

preclude a reoccurrence. (Act)

231.4 The production plan shall follow the format as shown in Exhibit C. Production plans 

should be brief and concise.

231.5 The production plan shall be preceded by the following, as required by the template:

231.5.1 Table of Contents listing the major areas as they appear in the production plan; and

231.5.2 List of attachments, forms provided with the production plan, if appropriate with the 

applicable document name and reference number.

232 The FSCS Division shall review each production plan to determine if it is adequate 

and shall notify the supplier of the status of their eligibility to bid.

233. Animal Welfare Requirements

233.1 All eligible suppliers shall meet the animal handling and welfare requirements set 

forth in the FPPS for Animal Handling and Welfare, effective August 2017 (Exhibit 

B).

300 INSTRUCTIONS FOR SUBMISSION OF PRODUCTION PLAN

310 The following procedures establish the acceptable minimum requirements for 

the format and content of the production plan:

310.1 The Government has provided a production plan format to be used in preparing the 

production plan (see Exhibit C). The supplier shall submit the production plan as an

email file attachment to AMS (Darin.Doerscher@ams.usda.gov and 

Steve.Whisenant@ams.usda.gov). The production plan shall be saved in a nonportable document file format (not PDF; e.g., Microsoft Word). The production plan

shall be submitted in its entirety. If the file size of the production plan is too large to

send in a single email, it may be divided and sent in multiple emails (i.e., Part 1, Part 2, 

Part 3, etc.). The collection of attachments and appendices may be submitted as a

separate document as well.

310.2. The production plan shall be submitted by an authorized agent of the company.

310.3 While it is not the desire of the Government to penalize a supplier for non-compliance 

with formatting instructions, technical evaluators may have difficulty evaluating the 

production plan to the fullest extent possible if the plan is not presented in the proper 

format. Technical evaluators shall not be required to search other subsections or 

sections of the supplier’s production plan for information requested in the evaluation.

320 Production Plan Revisions

321 Changes to a supplier’s production plan may be submitted at any time or at the request 

of the FSCS Division. All production plan revisions shall meet the following criteria:
Approved by CMS

Date Issued: 06/12/08

Date Revised: 08/03/17

321.1 Any changes to a production plan made by the supplier after its initial submittal shall 

be accomplished by submitting an entire production plan. A cover letter shall be 

submitted with the changes identified and an explanation of the need for the change.

The supplier shall include the revision date and the appropriate page number(s).

321.2 Changes from the original production plan shall be highlighted and deletions in

strikeouts.

400 ASSESSMENT BY THE QUALITY ASSESSMENT (QA) DIVISION

410 Once a supplier is notified by the FSCS Division that the production plan meets the 

applicable criteria, the QA Division shall contact the supplier to set up a pre-award 

onsite capability assessment audit of the facility’s processes, food defense plan, and 

quality control program used to produce the product(s) to determine the supplier’s 

ability to meet contractual requirements.

411 Eligible suppliers who receive contracts shall have a QA Division agent present 

during the production of the frozen beef roasts and/or diced beef. The QA Division 

agent shall monitor and verify the production based on the Supplier’s approved 

production plan and the FPPS. The supplier shall provide a copy of the approved

production plan and have the supporting documentation readily available for review 

by the QA Division agent. Records may be maintained on hard copy or electronic 

media but shall be made available in printed form immediately upon request by AMS 

or its agents.

420 Pre-Award Onsite Capability Assessment Audit

421 Food Defense Assessment

421.1 The QA Division shall conduct a food defense audit that shall include, but is not 

limited to, a thorough evaluation of the supplier’s food defense plan. Documentation 

shall support the supplier’s food defense plan. If the report demonstrates that the 

food defense plan is inadequate, the supplier shall be notified by the FSCS Division 

that they are ineligible to bid. The supplier shall have an opportunity to correct 

identified deficiencies, modify the food defense plan and resubmit a brief description 

for further consideration. Eligibility shall depend on whether the modifications 

demonstrate compliance with the food defense plan.

422 Harvesting Requirement

422.1 The QA Division shall conduct monthly harvesting and humane handling audits based 

on the requirements stated in the attached FPPS and the company’s approved 

production plan. Documentation shall support the supplier’s adherence to meeting 

the harvesting and human handling requirements as set forth in the FPPS.

423 Documentation shall support:

423.1 the production of the beef item that complies with the applicable FPPS and the 

potential supplier’s approved production plan, and
Approved by CMS

Date Issued: 06/12/08

Date Revised: 08/03/17

423.2 the supplier’s food defense plan. In addition, the audit shall consist of the review of 

records related to purchasing, receiving, production, quality control, inventory and 

shipping records, and interviews with management and production personnel.

424 Upon completion of the onsite capability assessment, the auditor shall provide either 

a verbal or email notification of the audit findings to the FSCS Division to determine 

(based on the audit findings), supplier eligibility to bid. Supplier shall be notified by 

the FSCS Division and the official final report shall be sent once released from the QA 

Division.

424.1 If the audit findings demonstrate that the process or food defense plan is inadequate, 

the applicant shall be notified by the FSCS Division that they are ineligible to bid. The 

supplier shall have an opportunity to correct identified deficiencies, modify the

process, food defense plan, and/or production plan, and resubmit for further 

consideration.

424.2 Eligibility shall depend on whether the modifications demonstrate that:

424.2.1 the process is capable of delivering frozen beef roasts and diced beef in compliance 

with the FPPS,

424.2.2 the supplier is in compliance with the food defense plan,

424.2.3 a successful QA Division corrective action audit is conducted, and 

424.2.4 the supplier complies with other applicable contractual requirements.

430 Post-Award Assessment Audit

431 Eligible suppliers who receive contracts shall have the documented food defense

plan, production plan, and supporting documentation readily available for review by 

the FSCS Division or AMS agents. Records may be maintained on hard copy or 

electronic media. However, records maintained as electronic media shall be made 

available in printed form immediately upon request by the FSCS Division or AMS 

agents.

432 The QA Division shall conduct an onsite audit of the supplier’s facility(s) and 

processes when production commences for the first contract awarded. Additional 

audits shall be conducted as determined by the FSCS Division, but not less than once 

per month for suppliers with continuous or multiple contracts, or once per contract for 

intermittent suppliers. At the discretion of the FSCS Division, more frequent audits 

may be conducted when audit deficiencies are detected.

440 Post-Award Actions

441 Any deviation from contractual requirements shall be immediately reported by the 

supplier to the Contracting Officer and FSCS Division. The Contracting Officer or 

FSCS Division shall notify the supplier regarding eligibility to continue to participate as 

a contractor.
Approved by CMS

Date Issued: 06/12/08

Date Revised: 08/03/17

442 Supplier shall assure that the delivered product complies with the provisions of the 

FPPS, the applicable assessment by AMS, and the supplier’s production plan 

approved by the FSCS Division.

450 The cost of all audit, product monitoring, and certification services performed by the 

AMS agents shall be borne by the supplier. This includes, but is not limited to, audits, 

examinations, supervision, official documentation, and related services.

451 Questions concerning charges and the availability of AMS agents can be directed to

USDA/AMS, LPS Program’s QA Division field office or the Director of the QA

Division, LPS Program, AMS, USDA, Room 3953-S, STOP 0258, 1400

Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20250-0258, telephone (202) 720-

3271.

500 DOMESTIC ORIGIN CERTIFICATION CLAUSE

510 The supplier shall include the below domestic origin certification clause in its entirety 

in all subcontracts for meat or meat products used in fulfilling any contracts awarded 

under this Supplement and Master Solicitation. The burden of proof of compliance is 

on the Contractor. All raw materials shall be shipped in containers labeled as 

“Domestic Only Product” on the principle display panel and the bill of lading 

accompanying the shipment shall contain the statement “Domestic Only Product.”

600 CERTIFICATE OF CONFORMANCE (COC)

610 In addition to the referenced payment documents required in the Master Solicitation,

please include a copy of the Contractor’s Certificate of Conformance (Exhibit D).

611 A variation in quantity the frozen beef roasts under this contract shall not be accepted 

unless the variation has been caused by conditions of loading, shipping, or 

packaging, or allowances in manufacturing processes, then only to the extent, if any, 

specified below:

611.1 the permissible variation shall be limited to 60 pounds decrease; contractor shall

submit an invoice for the actual pounds that were delivered as evidence by the Goods 

Receipt entered by the recipient agency. Payment shall only be made if the delivery 

unit that is not less than 39,940 pounds and not exceed 40,000 pounds. This 

decrease shall apply to the total quantity of each purchase order item number without 

regard to destination. (Split destinations shall be combined to determine the total 

pounds delivered under the awarded solicitation item number).

700 CONTRACTOR CHECKLOADING

710 Contractor shall perform checkloading examinations as described in the FPPS

at the time of shipment and issue contractor’s certificate to accompany each 

shipment that includes all of the following information:

710.1 Purchase Order Number,

710.2 Sales Order and Sales Order Item Number,

710.3 Name of product,

710.4 Shipping Date,
Approved by CMS

Date Issued: 06/12/08

Date Revised: 08/03/17

710.5 Production lot number(s) and date each lot was produced,

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

lot,

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

applicable

710.8 Contractor certification that product conforms with the FPPS,

710.9 Count and projected net weight verified, and

710.10 Signature of company official responsible for checkloading.

800 EXHIBITS
APPROVED

FEDERAL PURCHASE 

PROGRAM 

SPECIFICATION (FPPS) 

FOR FRESH BEEF ROUND 

ROASTS, 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

Supersedes: FPPS BR January 2015 – Changes from 

previous requirements in blue

Effective: April 2016

Approved by CMS 

Date Issued: 06/12/08

Date Revised: 04/12/16

100 ITEM DESCRIPTION

110 Fresh Beef Round Roasts, Boneless, Frozen – This item consists of beef round 

roasts that weigh 2-3 pounds, inclusive, individually vacuum packaged and 

frozen, derived from USDA Select, Choice, or Prime beef carcasses.

200 APPLICABLE DOCUMENTS

210 Institutional Meat Purchase Specification (IMPS) for Fresh Beef - Series 100, 

effective November 2014. 

300 CHECKLIST OF REQUIREMENTS

310 Beef round roasts shall be produced in accordance with Food Safety and 

Inspection Service (FSIS) regulations and the AMS Checklist of Requirements. 

The contractor’s production plan, submitted to the FSCS Division, shall adhere 

to the following checklist requirements.

320 MATERIALS

321 The contractor’s production plan shall describe a documented quality control 

program that includes procedures, records, forms, pictures, etc., that 

demonstrate conformance with the following Checklist of Requirements.

330 MEAT COMPONENT

331 Beef shall be the only meat component allowed. Roasts shall be intact muscles 

portioned from any combination of the following IMPS items:

167D – Beef Round, Sirloin Tip (Knuckle), Peeled, 2-Piece

169A – Beef Round, Top (Inside), Cap Off

171C – Beef Round, Eye of Round (Individual Muscle (IM))

171D – Beef Round, Outside Round, Side Muscle Removed (IM)

171E – Beef Round, Outside Round, Side Roast (IM)

SUPPLEMENT 210 TO AMS MASTER SOLICITATION EXHIBIT A
Approved by CMS

Date Issued: 06/12/08

Date Revised: 04/12/16 2

332 Domestic Origin of Meat Component – Beef shall originate from U.S. produced 

livestock as defined in the Master Solicitation and Supplement.

333 Grade – USDA Select, Choice or Prime.

334 Harvesting – Cattle shall be harvested in facilities that comply with the following 

requirements:

334.1 Humane Handling – All cattle shall be humanely handled in accordance with all 

applicable FSIS regulations and AMS requirements.

334.2 Pathogen Intervention Steps – The harvest process shall include at least two 

pathogen intervention steps. One of the intervention steps shall be a critical 

control point (CCP) in the establishment’s FSIS recognized harvest process 

Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) plan.

334.3 Spinal Cord Removal – All spinal cord material shall be removed during the 

harvesting process.

335 Boneless Beef – Only fresh-chilled boneless beef that complies with the 

requirements of the previous sub-sections (334.1-334.3) of this section and the 

following additional requirements and has never been previously frozen shall be 

allowed:

335.1 Traceability – Contractor shall provide sufficient product traceability and shall

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

335.2 Handling – All boneless beef shall be maintained in excellent condition. The 

contractor’s production plan shall include time and temperature controls 

necessary to maintain excellent condition of the boneless beef.

335.3 Objectionable Materials – The following objectionable materials shall be 

excluded:

335.3.1 Major lymph glands (prefemoral and popliteal) and the sciatic (ischiatic) nerve 

(lies medial to the outside round).

335.3.2 All bone, cartilage, silver skin on the outside round, sacrosciatic ligament, 

opaque periosteum, tendinous ends of shanks, gracilis membrane, patellar 

ligament (associated with the stifle joint), and achilles tendon.

336 Mechanically Separated – Beef that is mechanically separated from bone with 

automatic deboning systems or advanced meat (lean) recovery (AMR) systems 

is not allowed.

340 NON-MEAT COMPONENT

341 Seasonings and Other Ingredients – Seasonings and other ingredients are not 

allowed in the manufacture of this beef item.
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Date Issued: 06/12/08

Date Revised: 04/12/16 3

350 FAT LIMITATIONS

351 Peeled/Denuded (≥90% lean exposed). Remaining “flake” fat not to exceed 

1/8-inch (3mm) in depth.

360 STATE OF REFRIGERATION

361 Product shall 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 lot.

370 METAL DETECTION

371 All product shall be free of metal contaminates. Detection of stainless steel, 

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

The contractor's production plan shall identify and describe the equipment, 

location, detection procedure, sensitivity levels, frequency of equipment 

validation, and corrective action procedures.

380 PREPARATION FOR DELIVERY

381 The contractor shall assure that all packaging, packing, labeling, closure, 

marking, and palletization comply with the National Motor Freight Regulations,

FSIS regulations, and the requirements listed below.

390 PACKAGING

391 All roasts shall be individually vacuum packaged prior to freezing.

400 PACKING

401 Each individual roast shall weigh 2-3 pounds.

402 Sixteen (16) individually packaged roasts shall be snuggly packed in a 40 ± 2 

pound (net weight) shipping container.

410 CLOSURE

410 Shipping containers shall be strapped or taped.

420 LABELING

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

information required by FSIS regulations. Labels shall be illustrated in the 

contractor’s production plan and contain the following information:

421.1 Immediate Container

421.2 A traceability code that is traceable back to establishment number, production 

lot, and date.
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Date Issued: 06/12/08

Date Revised: 04/12/16 4

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

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

422 Shipping Container

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

on the principal display panel. 

 

422.2 Applicable purchase order number.

422.3 A traceability code that is traceable back to establishment number, production 

lot, and date.

422.4 Material number: 100166.

422.5 Product Name “Beef Round Roasts, Boneless, Frozen”.

422.6 Ingredient declaration (including single ingredient products).

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

422.8 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 ______.

430 PALLETIZED UNIT LOADS

431 All products 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.

440 DELIVERY UNIT

441 The delivery unit shall consist of a 1000 shipping containers and be 40,000 

pounds (net weight). A tolerance of minus 60 pounds is permissible.

450 DELIVERED PRODUCT
Approved by CMS

Date Issued: 06/12/08

Date Revised: 04/12/16 5

460 SIZE AND STYLE OF CONTAINER

461 Only one size and style of shipping container shall be used in any one delivery 

unit.

470 TEMPERATURE

471 Product temperature shall not exceed 0°F at the time of shipment and delivery.

480 SEALING

481 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) F1157-04 

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.

500 PRODUCT ASSURANCE

510 WARRANTY AND COMPLAINT RESOLUTION

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

specification requirements, production plan declarations, and provisions set 

forth in the Master Solicitation and Supplement.

512 Complaint Resolution – Customer complaint resolution procedures shall be 

included in the production plan. These procedures shall include: a point of 

contact, investigation steps, intent to cooperate with AMS, and product 

replacement or monetary compensation. The procedures shall be used to 

resolve product complaints from recipient agencies or AMS.

600 NON-CONFORMING PRODUCT

610 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).

620 CONTRACTOR CHECKLOADING

620.1 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:

620.1.1 Purchase Order Number/Purchase Order Line Item Number;

620.1.2 Sales Order Number/Sales Order Line Item Number;
Approved by CMS

Date Issued: 06/12/08

Date Revised: 04/12/16 6

620.1.3 Destination of shipment;

620.1.4 Name of Product and applicable Material Number;

620.1.5 Shipping Date;

620.1.6 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;

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

lot;

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

applicable;

620.1.9 Contractor certification that product conforms with the applicable specification

(FPPS-BR-2016);

620.1.10 Count and projected net weight verified and;

620.1.1 Signature of company official responsible for checkloading.

700 AMS MONITORING AND PRODUCTION ASSESSMENT

710 An AMS Quality Assessment (QA) Division agent shall be present during the 

production of the finished product. The QA Division agent shall monitor and 

verify the processing steps, quality assurance activities, and any corrective 

actions to assure that all requirements outlined in the approved production plan 

are complied with. The QA Division agent shall be conducting the monitoring 

and production verification in accordance with the Monitoring and Evaluation 

Protocol for Conformity Assessment of FPPS requirements and applicable QA

Division instructions. Any deviations to contractual requirements shall be 

reported to the contractor and Contracting Officer. The Contracting Officer 

shall make all determinations as to the acceptability of the product relative to 

findings documented by the QA Division agent.
APPROVED

FEDERAL PURCHASE 

PROGRAM 

SPECIFICATION (FPPS) 

FOR DICED BEEF, 

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 DB January2015 – Changes from 

previous requirements in blue

Effective: April 2016

Approved by CMS 

Date Issued: 06/12/08

Date Revised: 04/12/16

100 ITEM DESCRIPTION

110 Diced Beef – This item may be prepared from any portion of the carcass which 

yields product that meets finished product limitations.

120 Dices shall be of a size equivalent to not less than a 1⁄2-inch cube and not more 

than a 3⁄4-inch cube with no individual surface being more than 1 inch in length.

130 Fat content shall not exceed 10 grams per 100 gram basis.

200 APPLICABLE DOCUMENTS

210 Institutional Meat Purchase Specification (IMPS) for Fresh Beef - Series 100, 

effective November 2014. 

300 CHECKLIST OF REQUIREMENTS

310 Diced Beef shall be produced in accordance with Food Safety and Inspection 

Service (FSIS) regulations and the AMS Checklist of Requirements. The 

contractor’s production plan, submitted to the FSCS Division, shall adhere to 

the following checklist requirements.

320 MATERIALS

321 The contractor’s production plan shall describe a documented quality control 

program that includes procedures, records, forms, pictures, etc., that 

demonstrate conformance with the following Checklist of Requirements.

330 MEAT COMPONENT

331 Diced Beef may be prepared from any portion of the carcass which yields 

product that meets the end-item requirements by either hand or mechanical 

dicing (grinding is not permitted).

SUPPLEMENT 210 TO AMS MASTER SOLICITATION EXHIBIT A1
Approved by CMS

Date Issued: 06/12/08

Date Revised: 04/12/16 2

332 Shank, detached cutaneous muscles, and heel meat shall be excluded.

333 Dices shall be of a size equivalent to not less than a 1⁄2-inch cube and not more 

than a 3⁄4-inch cube with no individual surface being more than 1 inch.

334 To facilitate dicing, boneless beef cuts may be frozen and/or tempered, one 

time only.

335 Domestic Origin of Meat Component – Beef shall originate from U.S. produced 

livestock as defined in the Master Solicitation and Supplement.

336 Grade – USDA Select, Choice or Prime.

337 Harvesting – Cattle shall be harvested in establishments that comply with the 

following requirements:

337.1 Humane Handling – All cattle shall be humanely handled in accordance with all 

applicable FSIS regulations and AMS requirements.

337.2 Pathogen Intervention Steps – The harvest process shall include at least two 

pathogen intervention steps. One of the intervention steps shall be a critical 

control point (CCP) in the establishment’s FSIS recognized harvest process 

Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) plan.

337.3 Spinal Cord Removal – All spinal cord material shall be removed during the 

harvesting process.

338 Boneless Beef – Only fresh-chilled boneless beef that complies with the 

requirements of the previous sub-sections (337.1-337.3) of this section and the 

following additional requirements shall be allowed:

338.1 Traceability – Contractor shall provide sufficient product traceability and shall

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

338.2 Handling – All boneless beef shall be maintained in excellent condition. The 

contractor’s production plan shall include detailed production scheduling that 

addresses time and temperature controls necessary to maintain excellent 

condition of the boneless beef. Frozen boneless beef may be used provided it 

is processed into the final product within 60 days from the date of pack

338.3 Objectionable Materials – The following objectionable materials shall be 

excluded:

338.3.1 Major lymph glands (prefemoral and popliteal), and the sciatic (ischiatic) nerve 

(lies medial to the outside round).
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Date Issued: 06/12/08

Date Revised: 04/12/16 3

338.3.2 All bone, cartilage, silver skin on the outside round, sacrosciatic ligament, 

opaque periosteum, tendinous ends of shanks, gracilis membrane, patellar 

ligament (associated with the stifle joint), achilles tendon, back strap and 

abdominal tunic .

338.4 Mechanically Separated – Beef that is mechanically separated from bone with 

automatic deboning systems or advanced meat (lean) recovery (AMR) systems 

shall notbe allowed.

340 FINISHED PRODUCT LIMITATIONS

341 Fat - Surface and/or seam fat shall not exceed 1⁄8-inch at any point. The 

maximum surface fat thickness at any one point is evaluated by visually 

determining the areas on the edges of either side of the dice which have the 

thickest amount of fat and measuring the thickness of fat in these areas. The 

maximum seam fat thickness at any one point is evaluated by visually 

determining the areas of fat between layers of lean on any side of the dice 

which have the thickest deposits of fat and measuring the width in these areas. 

The resulting fat content shall not exceed 10 grams per 100 gram basis.

342 Dimensions - Dices shall be of a size equivalent to not less than a 1⁄2-inch cube 

and not more than a 3⁄4-inch cube with no individual surface being more than 1

inch.

343 Objectionable Materials - Dices shall be free of objectionable materials listed in 

Section 338.3.

344 Dices not meeting these requirements shall not exceed 10 percent, by weight, 

of the finished product.

360 STATE OF REFRIGERATION

361 Product shall 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 lot.

370 METAL DETECTION

371 All product 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 production plan shall identify and describe the equipment, 

location, detection procedure, sensitivity levels, frequency of equipment 

validation, and corrective action procedures. 

400 PREPARATION FOR DELIVERY

410 The contractor’s production plan shall assure that all packaging, packing, 

labeling, closure, marking, and palletization comply with the National Motor 

Freight Regulations and FSIS regulations and the requirements listed below.
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Date Issued: 06/12/08

Date Revised: 04/12/16 4

420 PACKAGING

421 Product shall be bulk packaged without use of plastic liner material directly into 

leak-proof shipping containers with fiberboard that is wax impregnated, have a 

moisture barrier coating, or have plastic laminated interior panels.

430 PACKING

431 Diced Beef shall be packed to a net weight of 60 pounds.

440 CLOSURE

441 Shipping containers shall be closed by strapping or taping.

450 LABELING

451 Shipping containers shall be labeled to include all information required by FSIS 

regulations. Shipping container labels shall be illustrated in the contractor’s 

production plan and contain the following information:

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

on the principal display panel.

451.2 Applicable purchase order number.

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

and date.

451.4 Material Number: 110196

451.5 The product name “Diced Beef, Frozen”

451.6 Ingredient declaration (including single ingredient products).

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

451.8 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 ______.
Approved by CMS

Date Issued: 06/12/08

Date Revised: 04/12/16 5

460 PALLETIZED UNIT LOADS

461 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.

470 DELIVERY UNIT

471 The delivery unit shall be 700 shipping containers with a net weight of 42,000 

pounds. No tolerance shall be allowed.

500 DELIVERED PRODUCT

510 SIZE AND STYLE OF CONTAINER

511 Only one size and style of shipping container shall be used in any one delivery 

unit.

520 TEMPERATURE

521 Product temperature shall not exceed 0°F at the time of shipment and delivery.

480 SEALING

481 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) F1157-04 

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.

500 PRODUCT ASSURANCE

510 WARRANTY AND COMPLAINT RESOLUTION

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

specification requirements, production plan declarations, and provisions set 

forth in the Master Solicitation and Supplement.

512 Complaint Resolution – Customer complaint resolution procedures shall be 

included in the production plan. These procedures shall include: a point of 

contact, investigation steps, intent to cooperate with AMS, and product 

replacement or monetary compensation. The procedures shall be used to 

resolve product complaints from recipient agencies or AMS.

600 NON-CONFORMING PRODUCT
Approved by CMS

Date Issued: 06/12/08

Date Revised: 04/12/16 6

610 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).

620 CONTACTOR CHECKLOADING

621.1 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:

621.1.1 Purchase Order Number/Purchase Order Line Item Number;

621.1.2 Sales Order Number/Sales Order Line Item Number;

621.1.3 Destination of shipment;

621.1.4 Name of Product and applicable Material Number;

621.1.5 Shipping Date;

621.1.6 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;

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

lot;

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

applicable;

621.1.9 Contractor certification that product conforms with the applicable specification

(FPPS-DB-2016);

621.1.10 Count and projected net weight verified and;

621.1.11 Signature of company official responsible for checkloading.

700 AMS MONITORING AND PRODUCTION ASSESSMENT
Approved by CMS

Date Issued: 06/12/08

Date Revised: 04/12/16 7

710 An AMS Quality Assessment (QA) Division agent shall be present during the 

production of the finished product. The QA Division agent shall monitor and 

verify the processing steps, quality assurance activities, and any corrective 

actions to assure that all requirements outlined in the approved production plan 

are complied with. The QA Division agent shall conduct the monitoring and 

production verification in accordance with the Monitoring and Evaluation 

Protocol for Conformity Assessment of FPPS requirements and applicable QA

Division instructions. Any deviations to contractual requirements shall be 

reported to the contractor and Contracting Officer. The Contracting Officer 

shall make all determinations as to the acceptability of the product relative to 

findings documented by the QA Division agent.
APPROVED

FEDERAL PURCHASE 

PROGRAM SPECIFICATION 

(FPPS) FOR ANIMAL 

HANDLING AND WELFARE

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-AHW-2015 January 2015 – Changes 

from previous requirements in blue

Effective: August 2017

Approved by_______CMS 

Date Issued: 08/11/08 

Date Revised: 08/02/17

100 GENERAL 

101 This document is for use by the Department of Agriculture (USDA), AMS, LPS 

Program to ensure that the animal handling and welfare requirements for Federal 

nutrition assistance programs reflect industry best practices. 

110 PROGRAM APPROACH 

111 All animal harvest facilities that supply raw materials from bovine, porcine and 

ovine species for the production of AMS destined finished products must develop 

and implement a written program that is consistent with a systematic approach to 

humane animal handling and welfare as outlined in 69 FR 54625. The program will 

ensure proper animal handling and welfare techniques are conducted from the time 

the transportation conveyance enters the facility’s premises through the stunning 

and exsanguination of the animal. 

120 PROGRAM SUBMISSION 

121 The program will be submitted as a supporting document to the organization’s 

approved technical proposal and must address the requirements outlined in 

Section 200 – PROGRAM COMPONENTS. 

200 PROGRAM COMPONENTS 

201 The contractor must ensure that any facility that harvests animals has a: 

210 MANAGEMENT COMMITMENT 

211 Steering Committee (internal) which is ultimately accountable for animal handling 

and welfare initiatives within the organization. 

212 Mission Statement on animal handling and welfare that is distributed to all 

employees and conspicuously displayed at the premises. 

SUPPLEMENT 210 TO AMS MASTER SOLICITATION EXHIBIT B
Approved by_______CMS 

Date Issued: 08/11/08 

Date Revised: 08/02/17 2 

220 TRAINING PROGRAM 

221 Training program on Animal Handling and Welfare that:

221.1 is provided to all employees interacting with animals; 

221.2 covers the North American Meat Institute (NAMI) Recommended Animal Handling 

Guidelines & Audit Guide: A Systematic Approach to Animal Welfare, dated June 

2017;

221.3 is facilitated by an employee that has earned and maintained a certification of 

animal handling and welfare training, such as that offered through the Professional 

Animal Auditor Certification Organization (PAACO) or an equivalent. 

221.4 is conducted no less frequently than once a year for each designated employee; 

and, 

221.5 requires signed documentation from each employee and confirmation by signature 

of the designated, certified trainer upon successful completion of training. 

230 QUALITY MANAGEMENT PLAN 

231 Written quality management plan (internal) which addresses all provisions of 

Chapter 3: Transportation Audit Guidelines, 7 Core Criteria and Chapter 4: Auditing 

Animal Handling and Stunning, 7 Core Criteria, of the NAMI Recommended Animal 

Handling Guidelines & Audit Guide: A Systematic Approach to Animal Welfare, 

dated June 2017, found at the following web site address: 

231.1 http://www.animalhandling.org/sites/default/files/forms/animal-handling-guidelinesJune152017.pdf

 

232 This internal quality management plan must also provide for routine assessment 

and monitoring of humane handling through the use of a numerical scoring system 

conducted by a trained employee. 

233 All animal harvest facilities that supply raw materials from bovine, porcine and 

ovine species for the production of AMS destined finished products must have a 

fully functioning back-up stunning device onsite wherever animal stunning is 

performed.

240 REGULATORY OVERSIGHT 

241 For all species, animals/carcasses that are inspected and passed by the Food 

Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) are eligible for AMS purchase programs. 

300 PROGRAM EVALUATION AND ELIGIBILITY 

301 The program will be audited (external) by AMS or a firm accredited by AMS. The 

accreditation of the firm will be conducted by the Quality Assessment Division 

(QAD) through the USDA ISO Guide 17065 Program. 
Approved by_______CMS 

Date Issued: 08/11/08 

Date Revised: 08/02/17 3 

302 Audit findings will be communicated to the establishment’s Food Safety and 

Inspection Service (FSIS) Inspector in Charge (IIC) or designee. 

310 AUDIT FORMAT 

311 Audits will be conducted utilizing the following format: 

312 TRANSPORTATION SEGMENT (CHAPTER 3: NAMI Recommended Animal 

Handling Guidelines & Audit Guide: A Systematic Approach to Animal Welfare,

dated June 2017) 

312.1 Audited organizations must pass Core Criteria 1 and 6 with a minimum scoring of 

excellent, Core Criteria 2 through 5 with a minimum scoring of acceptable and Core 

Criteria 7 must be adhered to with full compliance (zero tolerance) each time an 

audit is performed. 

313 ANIMAL HANDLING AND STUNNING SEGMENT (CHAPTER 4: NAMI 

Recommended Animal Handling Guidelines & Audit Guide: A Systematic Approach 

to Animal Welfare, dated June 2017) 

313.1 Audited organizations must adhere to Core Criteria 1, 2, 6 and 7 with full 

compliance (zero tolerance) and to Core Criteria 3, 4 and 5 with a minimum scoring 

of Acceptable each time an audit is performed.1/ 

313.2 The auditor shall inform FSIS and organization officials in writing of all audit 

findings, including any observations of missed stuns and/or animals regaining 

sensibility following stunning, upon completion of the audit during the exit interview. 

320 INITIAL AUDIT 

321 Initial audit must be performed prior to award of contracts. 

330 AUDIT FAILURE 

331 If an audit is failed for any of the Core Criteria, the organization is not eligible to 

provide product until such a time that corrective and preventative actions are 

approved by the Food Safety and Commodity Specification (FSCS) Division, 

implemented and proven effective. 

340 AUDIT FREQUENCY AND STATUS 

341 STANDARD - Until four (4) consecutive successfully passed audits are attained, an 

audit must be conducted within 3 months of the previous audit. 

1/Religious harvest (Kosher and Halal) shall be exempt from the AMS auditing of Core Criteria 1: Effective Stunning. 
Approved by_______CMS 

Date Issued: 08/11/08 

Date Revised: 08/02/17 4 

342 MONTHLY - If at any time an audit identifies any of the Core Criteria not meeting 

the pass requirements while in the STANDARD phase, auditing will be required to 

be conducted on a monthly basis once corrective and preventative actions have 

been approved by the FSCS Division, implemented and proven effective. This 

schedule will be for a period of time until four (4) successive audits are found to 

meet the passing requirements noted in SECTION 310 – AUDIT FORMAT; at 

which time audits shall be conducted on the STANDARD basis. 

343 If four successfully conducted audits are sequentially completed within a one year 

period while in STANDARD auditing phase, the facility may move to a SEMIANNUAL audit basis. 

344 SEMI-ANNUAL - Semi-annual audits may continue until such time that a failed 

audit is reported or a period of greater than six months has elapsed without any 

audits being performed; at which time the audits must resume as described for 

STANDARD audits. 

345 FOR-CAUSE – Any official enforcement actions issued by FSIS for missed stuns or 

for an animal regaining sensibility following stunning shall result in an immediate 

for-cause animal handling and welfare audit by AMS. Subsequent audit frequency 

will be determined by results of the AMS audit, as described above. 

400 FSCS DIVISION 

401 The FSCS Division can declare an organization’s Animal Handing and Welfare 

Program out of compliance at any time. 

402 The organization shall immediately notify the FSCS Division when any animal 

handling and welfare official enforcement action is issued by FSIS. 
Approved by CMS

Date Issued: 06/12/08

Date Revised: 08/03/17

SUPPLEMENT 210 TO AMS MASTER SOLICITATION EXHIBIT C

Cover Page:

Company Name

Company Address

Contact Person, including title, phone number, including emergency contact information, email address (must be authorized to represent the company).

Production Plan for: [Supplement Number] and [FPPS]

Table of Contents (all pages and attachments shall be number and identified – any 

attachments shall be identified and referenced in the Production Plan).

The production plan should document a quality control program that includes procedures, 

records, forms, pictures, etc., which demonstrates conformance with the following checklist of 

requirements:

100 ITEM DESCRIPTION

200 APPLICABLE DOCUMENTS

300 CHECKLIST OF REQUIREMENTS

320 MATERIALS

330 MEAT COMPONENT

331 IMPS Items

332 Domestic Origin Of Meat Component 

333 Grade

334 Harvest (Slaughter)

334.1 Humane Handling

Non-Ambulatory Cattle

334.2 Pathogen Intervention Steps

334.3 Spinal Cord Removal

335 Boneless Beef

335.1 Traceability

335.2 Handling

336 Mechanically Separated
Approved by CMS

Date Issued: 06/12/08

Date Revised: 08/03/17

340 NON-MEAT COMPONENTS

370 PREPARATION FOR DELIVERY

380 PACKAGING

390 PACKING

400 CLOSURE

420 LABELING

430 PALLETIZED UNIT LOADS

440 DELIVERY UNIT

450 DELIVERED PRODUCT

460 SIZE AND STYLE OF CONTAINER

470 TEMPERATURE

480 SEALING

500 PRODUCT ASSURANCE

510 WARRANTY AND COMPLAINT RESOLUTION

511 Warranty

512 Complaint Resolution

600 NON-CONFORMING PRODUCT

700 AMS MONITORING AND PRODUCTION ASSESSMENT

Attachments or Appendixes - Please attach all referenced documents with the applicable 

document name and reference number.
Approved by CMS

Date Issued: 06/12/08

Date Revised: 08/03/17

SUPPLEMENT 210 TO AMS MASTER SOLICITATION EXHIBIT D

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE 

LIVESTOCK, POULTRY AND SEED PROGRAM

CERTIFICATE OF CONFORMANCE FOR

THE PROCUREMENT OF BEEF ROASTS OR 

DICED BEEF, FROZEN

CERTIFICATE OF CONFORMANCE

I certify the following:

(1) On [delivery date(s)], [Supplier’s name] furnished the (insert the appropriate commodity 

description) called for by Purchase Order Number via [Carrier] under Sales Order 

Number/Item number(s): .

(2) The (insert the appropriate material name) is of the quality specified and conforms in all 

respects with the purchase order requirements, including [Supplier’s name] Production Plan 

as approved by the AMS, LPS Program, FSCS Division.

(3) Product identification, (i.e. production lot number(s)) is in the quantity shown on the 

attached acceptance document.

(4) Supplier assures all meat or meat products used in fulfilling this contract was produced in 

the United States as defined in the AMS Master Solicitation Section I.E.

Date:

Signature:

(Signed by an officer or representative authorized to sign offers)

Title: