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SECTION C

This document covers shelf stable spaghetti with meatballs in sauce packaged in polymeric 

trays for use by the Department of Defense as a component of operational rations.

C-1 ITEM DESCRIPTION

PCR-S-012A, SPAGHETTI WITH MEATBALLS IN SAUCE, PACKAGED IN A 

POLYMERIC TRAY, SHELF STABLE

C-2 PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS

 A. Product standard. A sample shall be subjected to first article (FA) or product 

demonstration model (PDM) inspection as applicable, in accordance with the tests and 

inspections of Section E of this Performance-based Contract Requirements (PCR) document. 

The approved sample shall serve as the product standard. Should the contractor at any time 

plan to or actually produce the product using different raw material or process methodologies 

from the approved product standard, which result in a product noncomparable to the product 

standard, the contractor shall submit a replacement FA or PDM approval. In any event, all 

product produced must meet all requirements of this document including product standard 

comparability.

 B. Commercial sterility. The packaged food shall be processed until commercially sterile.

 C. Shelf life. The packaged product shall meet the minimum shelf life requirement of 36 

months at 80oF.

 D. Appearance.

(1) General. The finished product shall be spaghetti with meatballs in tomato sauce. 

Each individual polymeric tray shall contain not less than 36 intact meatballs. The finished 

product shall be free from foreign materials.

(2) Spaghetti. The cooked, enriched thin spaghetti shall be a solid cylindrical shape 

and shall be an off-white to light tan color. At least 50 percent of the cooked spaghetti shall 

be a minimum of 2.0 inches in length.

(3) Meatballs. The cooked meatballs shall be a uniform size and shape and shall not 

contain pork. The meatballs shall have a cooked ground beef color and may have a reddish 

color from the sauce. The cooked meatballs shall be practically free of bone or bone 

fragments, cartilage, coarse connective tissue, tendons or ligaments, and glandular material.
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(4) Sauce. The sauce shall be an opaque medium red to dark red color with flecks of 

herbs and spices and small pieces of onion and tomato. 

 E. Odor and flavor. The packaged food shall have an odor and flavor of cooked beef 

meatballs, cooked spaghetti in an Italian seasoned tomato sauce with parmesan cheese. The 

packaged food shall be free from foreign odors and flavors.

 F. Texture.

(1) Spaghetti. The cooked spaghetti shall be slightly soft to slightly firm. The 

spaghetti shall not be pasty.

(2) Meatballs. The cooked meatballs shall be moist and tender.

(3) Sauce. The sauce shall be moderately thick.

 G. Net weight. The average net weight shall be not less than 93 ounces. No individual 

polymeric tray shall have a net weight of less than 91 ounces.

 H. Drained weight of spaghetti. The average drained weight of spaghetti shall be not

less than 46.0 ounces. The drained weight of spaghetti in an individual polymeric tray shall 

be not less than 40.0 ounces.

 I. Drained weight of meatballs. The average drained weight of meatballs shall be not less 

than 24.0 ounces. The drained weight of 36 intact meatballs in an individual polymeric tray 

shall be not less than 22.0 ounces.

 J. Palatability and overall appearance. The finished product shall be equal to or better than 

the approved product standard in palatability and overall appearance.

 K. Analytical requirements.

(1) Fat. The fat content shall be not greater than 12.0 percent. 

 

(2) Salt. The salt content shall be not less than 0.5 and not greater than 1.3 percent.

SECTION D

D-1 PACKAGING 

 A. Preservation. Product shall be filled into polymeric trays which shall conform to the 

requirements of section 3 of MIL-PRF-32004, Packaging of Food in Polymeric Trays, Type 
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I, Retortable products. Government verification testing and inspection of trays, lids, sleeves

and fiberboard pads, as applicable, shall be in accordance with Section 4 of MIL-PRF-32004 

and the Quality Assurance Provisions of Section E of this Performance-based Contract 

Requirements document.

D-2 LABELING

 A. Polymeric tray body. The polymeric tray body shall be clearly printed or stamped, in a 

manner that does not damage the tray, with permanent ink of any contrasting color, which is 

free of carcinogenic elements. One end of the polymeric tray (see figure 1 of MIL-PRF32004) shall be marked with the product name and number of portions. If the tray body end 

markings are not readily legible in low light conditions, a small, easily legible label shall be 

applied, but not over any existing tray markings. All other markings may be applied along 

the tray body side. The marking of trays with the product name, lot number and filling 

equipment number shall be applied prior to processing. Additional tray marking may be 

applied before or after processing. 1/

Tray body markings shall include:

(1) Product name. Commonly used abbreviations may be used.

(2) Tray code includes: 2/

 Lot number

 Filling equipment identification number

 Retort identification number

 Retort cook number

 Official establishment number

1/ As an alternate method, tray body markings may be clearly printed or stamped onto the 

polymeric tray lid prior to processing, in a manner that does not damage the lid, with 

permanent ink of any contrasting color, which is free of carcinogenic elements, provided that 

the required markings are applied onto the tray body after processing.

 

2/ The lot number shall be expressed as a four digit Julian code. The first digit shall indicate 

the year of production and the next three digits shall indicate the day of the year (Example, 

14 February 2030 would be coded as 0045). The Julian code shall represent the day the 

product was packaged into the tray and processed. Sublotting (when used) shall be 

represented by an alpha character immediately following the four digit Julian code. 

Following the four digit Julian code and the alpha character (when used), the other required 

code information shall be printed in the sequence as listed above.
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 B. Polymeric tray lid. The lid shall be clearly printed or stamped in a manner that does not 

cause damage. Permanent ink of any contrasting color, which is free of carcinogenic 

elements, shall be used. As an alternate labeling method, a pre-printed self-adhering 0.002 

inch thick clear polyester label printed with indelible contrasting color ink may be used.

Note: The font tested by Natick was Microsoft Helvetica. The font used shall be similarly 

clear/easy to read as Helvetica. The recommended font sizes are as follows: 22 for the 

product name, 14 for “yield” and “to heat in water.” If an additional note is required on the 

label it should also be in font size 14. All other information should be in font size 9.

(1) Lid labeling shall include: 

 Product name

 Ingredients

 Net weight

 Name and address of packer

 Official inspection legend

 “Nutrition Facts” label in accordance with the Nutrition Labeling and 

 Education Act (NLEA) and all applicable USDA regulations.

(2) Lid labeling shall also show the following statements:

YIELD: Serves 9 portions of 4 meatballs each plus approximately 2/3 cup spaghetti.

TO HEAT IN WATER: Submerge unopened tray in water. Bring water to a boil. Simmer

gently 35-40 minutes. Avoid overheating (tray shows evidence of bulging).

WARNING: Do not heat tray in oven.

TO TRANSPORT AFTER HEATING: Insert tray back into protective sleeve to protect 

during transport. If sleeve is unavailable, stack trays lid-to-lid with fiberboard pads in 

between.

CAUTION: Use care when opening as pressure may have been generated within the tray.

TO OPEN: Using a clean knife, cut the lidding around the inside perimeter of the tray seals.

SUGGESTION: Cut lid along 3 sides and fold over uncut portion. Fold back to keep unused 

portions protected.
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(3) The product shall be formulated and labeled in accordance with all USDA 

labeling regulations and policies. The lid shall be labeled with the following product name: 

SPAGHETTI WITH MEATBALLS IN SAUCE

D-3 PACKING

 A. Packing. Four filled, sealed and processed polymeric trays shall be packed with sleeves 

or fiberboard pads in a fiberboard shipping container constructed in accordance with style 

RSC-L of ASTM D5118/D5118M, Standard Practice for Fabrication of Fiberboard Shipping 

Boxes. The fiberboard shall conform to type CF, class D, variety SW, minimum burst grade 

275 or ECT 44 of ASTM D4727/D4727M, Standard Specification for Corrugated and Solid 

Fiberboard Sheet Stock (Container Grade) and Cut Shapes. Type I trays shall be placed flat 

with the first two trays placed with the lids together and the next two trays with the lids 

together. Each box shall be closed in accordance with ASTM D1974/D1974M, Standard 

Practice for Methods of Closing, Sealing, and Reinforcing Fiberboard Boxes.

D-4 UNITIZATION

 A. Unit loads. Unit loads shall be as specified in accordance with DLA Troop Support 

Form 3507, Loads, Unit: Preparation of Semiperishable Subsistence Items.

D-5 MARKING

 A. Shipping containers and unit loads. Shipping containers and unit loads shall be marked 

in accordance with DLA Troop Support Form 3556, Marking Instructions for Boxes, Sacks, 

and Unit Loads of Perishable and Semiperishable Subsistence.

SECTION E INSPECTION AND ACCEPTANCE

The following quality assurance criteria, utilizing ANSI/ASQ Z1.4, Sampling Procedures and 

Tables for Inspection by Attributes, are required. Unless otherwise specified, single sampling 

plans indicated in ANSI/ASQ Z1.4 will be utilized. When required, the manufacturer shall 

provide the Certificate(s) of Conformance to the appropriate inspection activity. 

Certificate(s) of Conformance not provided shall be cause for rejection of the lot.

 

 A. Definitions.

(1) Critical defect. A critical defect is a defect that judgment and experience indicate 

would result in hazardous or unsafe conditions for individuals using, maintaining, or 

depending on the item; or a defect that judgment and experience indicate is likely to prevent 

the performance of the major end item, i.e., the consumption of the ration.
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(2) Major defect. A major defect is a defect, other than critical, that is likely to result 

in failure, or to reduce materially the usability of the unit of product for its intended purpose. 

(3) Minor defect. A minor defect is a defect that is not likely to reduce materially the 

usability of the unit of product for its intended purpose, or is a departure from established 

standards having little bearing on the effective use or operation of the unit.

 B. Classification of inspections. The inspection requirements specified herein are classified 

as follows:

(1) Product standard inspection. The first article or product demonstration model shall 

be inspected in accordance with the provisions of this document and evaluated for 

appearance, odor, flavor, and texture. Any failure to conform to the performance 

requirements or any appearance or palatability failure shall be cause for rejection of the lot. 

(2) Periodic review evaluation. The approved first article or product demonstration 

model shall be used as the product standard for periodic review evaluations. All food 

components that are inspected by the USDA shall be subject to periodic review sampling and 

evaluation. The USDA shall select sample units during production of contracts and submit 

them to the following address for evaluation:

DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY

FCDD-SCC-EMR

COMBAT CAPABILITIES DEVELOPMENT COMMAND-SOLDIER CENTER

10 GENERAL GREENE AVENUE

NATICK, MA 01760-5056

One lot shall be randomly selected during each calendar month of production or as otherwise 

specified in the contract. Two (2) sample units shall be randomly selected from that one 

production lot. The two (2) sample units shall be shipped to Natick within five (5) working 

days from the end of the production month from which they are randomly selected and upon 

completion of all USDA inspection requirements. The sample units will be evaluated for 

overall quality against the current first article or product demonstration model.

(3) Conformance inspection. Conformance inspection shall include the 

examinations/tests and methods of inspection cited in this section.

E-5 QUALITY ASSURANCE PROVISIONS (PRODUCT)

 A. Product examination. The finished product shall be examined for compliance with the 

performance requirements specified in Section C of this Performance-based Contract 
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Requirements document utilizing the double sampling plans indicated in ANSI/ASQ Z1.4. 

The lot size shall be expressed in trays. The sample unit shall be the contents of one tray. The 

inspection level shall be S-3 and the acceptable quality level (AQL), expressed in terms of 

defects per hundred units, shall be 4.0 for major defects and 6.5 for minor defects. Defects 

and defect classifications are listed in table I. The trays shall be heated in accordance with the 

heating instructions from the tray label prior to conducting any portion of the product 

examination. The samples for drained weight inspection shall be selected using the same 

sampling criteria as above.

TABLE I. Product defects 1/ 2/ 

Category Defect

Major Minor

Appearance

101 Finished product not spaghetti or not with meatballs or not in tomato 

sauce. 3/ 4/ 5/

102 Bone or bone fragment measuring more than 0.3 inch in any 

dimension.

201 Cooked spaghetti not a solid cylindrical shape or not an off-white to 

light tan color. 6/

202 Cooked meatballs not a uniform size or not a uniform shape.

203 Meatballs not a cooked ground beef color.

204 Sauce not opaque or not a medium red to dark red color or not with 

flecks of herbs or spices or not with small pieces of onion or not 

tomato.

205 Total weight of cartilage, coarse connective tissue, tendons or 

ligaments, and glandular material is more than 2.0 ounces.

Odor and flavor

103 The packaged food does not have an odor or flavor of cooked beef 

meatballs or not cooked spaghetti or not in an Italian seasoned 

tomato sauce with parmesan cheese.
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TABLE I. Product defects 1/ 2/ - Continued

Category Defect

Major Minor

Texture

206 Cooked spaghetti not slightly soft to slightly firm. 

207 Cooked spaghetti is pasty.

208 Cooked meatballs not moist or not tender.

209 Sauce not moderately thick.

Net weight

210 Net weight of an individual polymeric tray is less than 91 ounces. 7/

Drained weight

211 Drained weight of spaghetti in an individual polymeric tray is less 

than 40.0 ounces. 8/

212 Drained weight of 36 intact meatballs in an individual polymeric tray 

less than 22.0 ounces. 9/

1/ Presence of any foreign materials such as, but not limited to dirt, insect parts, hair, glass, 

wood, or metal, or any foreign odors or flavors such as, but not limited to burnt, scorched, 

rancid, sour, stale, musty or moldy shall be cause for rejection of the lot.

2/ Finished product not equal to or better than the approved product standard in palatability 

and overall appearance shall be cause for rejection of the lot.

3/ The finding of any individual polymeric tray containing less than 36 intact meatballs shall 

be cause for rejection of the lot. Not intact is defined as any meatball in an individual 

polymeric tray broken into three or more pieces.

4/ Verification of the pasta as enriched, thin spaghetti shall be with the statement of 

ingredients on the label or verified by the producer’s Certificate of Conformance (CoC). Any 

nonconforming results shall be cause for rejection of the lot.
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5/ The meatballs shall not contain pork and shall be verified by the ingredient statement on 

the product label. Product not conforming to the pork free requirement as specified in Section 

C-2, D(3) of this document shall be cause for rejection of the lot.

6/ At least 50 percent of the cooked spaghetti greater than 2 inches in length shall be verified 

by visual examination.

7/ Sample average net weight less than 93 ounces shall be cause for rejection of the lot.

8/ Sample average drained weight of spaghetti less than 46.0 ounces shall be cause for 

rejection of the lot.

9/ Sample average drained weight of meatballs less than 24.0 ounces shall be cause for 

rejection of the lot

 B. Methods of inspection.

(1) Commercial sterility. Commercial sterility shall be verified in accordance with 

USDA/FSIS regulations. 

(2) Shelf life. The contractor shall provide a Certificate of Conformance that the 

product has a 36 month shelf life when stored at 80°F. Government verification may include 

storage for 6 months at 100°F or 36 months at 80°F. Upon completion of either storage 

period, the product will be subjected to a sensory evaluation panel for appearance and 

palatability and must receive an overall score of 5 or higher based on a 9 point quality scale 

to be considered acceptable.

(3) Net weight. The net weight of the filled and sealed polymeric tray shall be 

determined by weighing each sample unit on a suitable scale tared with a representative 

empty tray and lid. Results shall be reported to the nearest 1 ounce or to the nearest 1 gram. 

(4) Drained weight. Weigh a U.S. Standard No. 7 sieve to obtain the sieve tare 

weight. The polymeric tray contents shall be poured into a flat-bottom container. A minimum 

of three times the volume of the polymeric tray of not less than 140°F and not greater than 

190°F water shall be added to the container so as to cover the contents. The contents and 

water shall be gently agitated so as to liquefy rendered fat without breaking the spaghetti or 

meatballs. The contents shall then be poured into a U.S. Standard No. 7 sieve in a manner 

that will distribute the product over the sieve without breaking the spaghetti or meatballs. 

The sieve area shall be such that the distributed product does not completely cover all the 

openings of the sieve. The sieve shall be tilted at such an angle to ensure complete drainage 

of liquid from the product. Drain product for two minutes before determining the drained 

weight by subtracting the sieve tare weight from the gross weight. Remove the 36 intact 
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meatballs from the sieve, reweigh the spaghetti and subtract this weight from the drained 

weight of the spaghetti and meatballs. The drained weight shall be reported to the nearest 0.5 

ounce or to the nearest 1 gram.

(5) Analytical. The sample to be analyzed shall be a one-pound composite of three 

filled and sealed polymeric trays that have been selected at random from one production lot.

The composite sample shall be prepared and analyzed in accordance with the following 

methods of the Official Methods of Analysis (OMA) of AOAC International:

Test Method Number

Fat 991.36, 2007.04, 2008.06, or 925.12

Salt 935.47 or 971.27

Test results shall be reported to the nearest 0.1 percent. Government verification will be 

conducted through actual testing by a Government laboratory. Any result not conforming to 

the analytical requirement shall be cause for rejection of the lot.

E-6 QUALITY ASSURANCE PROVISIONS (PACKAGING AND PACKING 

MATERIALS, POLYMERIC TRAY)

 A. Packaging and labeling.

(1) Polymeric tray testing. For purposes of clarification, the polymeric tray without 

the lid will be referred to as the “tray” and the polymeric tray with the lid shall be referred to 

as the “container”. The tray, container and packaging materials, as applicable, in accordance 

with the lot size, sample unit, and inspection level criteria shall be examined for the 

performance characteristics listed in table I of MIL-PRF-32004, Packaging of Food in 

Polymeric Trays. Any test failure shall be classified as a major defect and shall be cause for 

rejection of the lot.

(2) Examination of container. The container shall be examined for the defects listed in 

table II of MIL-PRF-32004. The lot size shall be expressed in containers. The sample unit 

shall be one processed and labeled container. The inspection level shall be I and the AQL, 

expressed in terms of defects per hundred units, shall be 0.65 for major A defects, 2.5 for 

major B defects and 4.0 for minor defects. Two hundred sample units shall be examined for 

critical defects. The finding of any critical defect shall be cause for rejection of the lot. The 

labeling defects are listed in table II as follows:
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TABLE II. Container labeling defects

Category Defect

Major A Minor

101 Polymeric tray lid or body labeling missing or incorrect or 

illegible.

201 When a pre-printed self-adhering label is used, the label not 

adhering to tray lid (for example, label raised or peeled back 

from edge to corner) or presence of any areas of gaps along the 

perimeter of the label where the label is not properly adhered.

(3) Label adhesive examination. When self-adhering labels are used, the adhesive 

shall be tested in accordance with ASTM D3330/D3330M, Standard Test Method for Peel 

Adhesion of Pressure-Sensitive Tape. In lieu of testing, a CoC shall be provided.

 B. Packing.

(1) Shipping container and marking examination. The filled and sealed shipping 

containers shall be examined for the defects listed in table III. The lot size shall be expressed 

in shipping containers. The sample unit shall be one shipping container fully packed. The 

inspection level shall be S-3 and the AQL, expressed in terms of defects per hundred units, 

shall be 4.0 for major defects and 10.0 for total defects.

TABLE III. Shipping container and marking defects

Category Defect

Major Minor

101 Marking missing or incorrect or illegible.

102 Inadequate workmanship. 1/

201 Arrangement or number of polymeric trays not as specified.

1/ Inadequate workmanship is defined as, but not limited to, incomplete closure of container 

flaps, loose strapping, inadequate stapling, improper taping, or bulged or distorted container.
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 C. Unitization.

(1) Unit load examination. The unit load shall be examined in accordance with DLA 

Troop Support Form 3507, Loads, Unit: Preparation of Semiperishable Subsistence Items. 

Any nonconformance shall be classified as a major defect.

SECTION J REFERENCE DOCUMENTS

DLA Troop Support Forms

Form 3507 Loads, Unit: Preparation of Semiperishable Subsistence Items

Form 3556 Marking Instructions for Boxes, Sacks, and Unit Loads of 

Perishable and Semiperishable Subsistence

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE SPECIFICATION

MIL-PRF-32004 Packaging of Food in Polymeric Trays

(Copies of these documents are available from 

http://quicksearch.dla.mil/qsSearch.aspx or from the Standardization Document 

Order Desk, 700 Robbins Ave, Building 4D, Philadelphia, PA 19111-5094.)

GOVERNMENT PUBLICATION

Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and regulations promulgated thereunder 

(21 CFR Parts 1-199) and (9 CFR Parts 1-391)

NON-GOVERNMENTAL STANDARDS

AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR QUALITY (ASQ) www.asq.org

ANSI/ASQ Z1.4 Sampling Procedures and Tables for Inspection by 

Attributes

ASTM INTERNATIONAL www.astm.org

D1974/D1974M Standard Practice for Methods of Closing, 

Sealing, and Reinforcing Fiberboard Boxes

D3330/D3330M Standard Test Method for Peel Adhesion of PressureSensitive Tape
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D4727/D4727M Standard Specification for Corrugated and Solid 

Fiberboard Sheet Stock (Container Grade) and Cut 

Shapes

D5118/D5118M Standard Practice for Fabrication of Fiberboard 

Shipping Boxes 

AOAC INTERNATIONAL www.aoac.org

Official Methods of Analysis (OMA) of AOAC International