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SECTION C

This document covers dry, non-dairy creamer packaged for use by the Department of 

Defense as a component of operational rations.

C-1 ITEM DESCRIPTION

PACKAGING REQUIREMENTS AND QUALITY ASSURANCE PROVISIONS FOR 

CID A-A-20043D, CREAMER, NON-DAIRY, DRY

Style, and flavor.

Style I – Regular

Flavor A – Plain/unflavored

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 Packaging Requirements and Quality Assurance Provisions

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 for approval. 

In any event, all product produced must meet all requirements of this document including 

product standard comparability.

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

months at 80°F.

 C. Dehydrated product.

(1) Net weight. The net weight of one packet shall be not less than 4.0 grams.

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

the approved product standard in palatability and overall appearance.
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 E. Analytical and microbiological tests. The fat, trans fatty acid, moisture, Standard Plate 

Count, Coliform count, Salmonella, and Escheria coli (E. coli) requirements, procedures, and 

testing shall be in accordance with A-A-20043D and the NOTE cited in Section E-5.

SECTION D

D-1 PACKAGING

 A. Packaging. Not less than 4.0 grams of dry, non-dairy creamer shall be filled into a 

packet having maximum outside dimensions of 3-5/8 inches by 2-3/4 inches. The packet

shall be made from a heat sealable barrier material, one layer of which is a minimum of 

0.00035 inch thick aluminum foil. All four edges of the packet shall be heat-sealed with seals 

not less than 1/8 inch wide. The sealed packet shall not leak when examined in accordance 

with Section E-6, B(1). There shall be no crushed, misshapen or unclean packets.

D-2 LABELING

 A. Packets. Each packet shall be correctly and legibly labeled. Printing ink shall be 

permanent black ink or any other dark contrasting color, which is free of carcinogenic 

elements. The label shall contain the following information:

(1) Name of product (letters not less than 1/8 inch high)

(2) Ingredients

(3) Date 1/

(4) Net weight

(5) Name and address of packer 

(6) “Nutrition Facts” label in accordance with the Nutrition Labeling and 

Education Act (NLEA) and all applicable FDA regulations.

(7) Directions: Dissolve contents in 1/3 canteen cup (8 ounces) of beverage.

1/ Each packet shall have the date of pack noted by using a four digit code beginning with the 

final digit of the current year followed by the three digit Julian day code. For example, 14 

February 2018 would be coded as 8045. The Julian day code shall represent the day the 

product was packaged into the packet.

D-3 PACKING
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 A. Packing. Not more than 40 pounds of product shall be packed in a fiberboard shipping 

box 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, burst grade 200 or ECT grade 32 of ASTM D4727/D4727M, 

Standard Specification for Corrugated and Solid Fiberboard Sheet Stock (Container Grade) 

and Cut Shapes. Each box shall be closed in accordance with ASTM D1974/D1974M, 

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

D-5 MARKING

 A. Shipping containers and unit loads. Shipping containers 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.

(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:
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(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

RDNS-SEC-EMR

NATICK SOLDIER SYSTEMS CENTER

10 GENERAL GREENE AVENUE

NATICK, MA 01760

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

specified in the contract. Six (6) sample units shall be randomly selected from that one 

production lot. The six (6) 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 product 

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 A-A-20043D and Section C of this Packaging 

Requirements and Quality Assurance Provisions document utilizing the double sampling 

plans indicated in ANSI/ASQ Z1.4. The lot size shall be expressed in packets. The sample 

unit shall be the contents of one packet. The inspection level shall be S-3 and the acceptable 

quality level (AQL), expressed in terms of defects per hundred units, shall be 1.5 for major 

defects and 4.0 for minor defects. Defects and defect classifications are listed in table I.

TABLE I. Product defects 1/ 2/

Category Defect
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Major Minor

Dehydrated product

General

101 Product not style or not flavor as specified.

Appearance

201 Finished product not a white to light cream color.

Odor and flavor

102 Presence of any objectionable odors or flavors, such as, malty, 

tallow, soapy, or bitter.

Texture

202 Product not free flowing or not uniform or not a granular powder.

203 Presence of lumps. 3/

Net weight

204 Net weight of an individual packet less than 4.0 grams.

Hydrated product 4/

Appearance

103 Product does not readily dissolve in hot liquid or shows evidence 

of curdling or feathering or undissolved floating particles.

Odor and flavor

104 Hydrated product does not have a sweet or creamy flavor.

1/ Presence of any foreign material 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/ Lumps that do not fall apart under light pressure shall be scored as a defect.
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4/ Prior to conducting the hydrated product examination, the product shall be hydrated per 

label instructions. Product that does not fully dissolve within 15 seconds with constant 

stirring shall be cause for rejection of the lot.

 B. Methods of Inspection.

(1) 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.

(2) Net weight. The net weight of the filled and sealed packets shall be determined by 

weighing each sample on a suitable scale tared with a representative empty packet. Results 

shall be reported to the nearest 0.1 gram.

(3) Dispersability test. To 8 ounces (227 ml) of potable water at 175°F to 180°F 

(79°C to 82°C) contained in a clean transparent glass vessel, add 2.5 grams of instant coffee. 

Add 4.0 grams of dry cream substitute and observe for product dissolving in 15 seconds, no 

evidence of curdling, feathering, or undissolved particles. After observing this, stir the coffee 

for 15 seconds. Observe the whitening power of the cream substitute, which shall be 

equivalent to the color rendered by addition of homogenized milk to coffee prepared in the 

same manner 1/. There shall be no sediment on the bottom of the vessel after one minute of 

standing following the stirring. The sample for inspection shall be a 4.0 gram composite 

drawn from the number of sample units called for by table I. Nonconformance to one or more 

of the requirements shall be cause for rejection of the lot.

1/ To a second 8 ounce (227 ml) portion of prepared coffee add 1 ounce (30 ml) of 

homogenized milk. 

(4) Salmonella and microbiological testing. The filled and sealed pouches shall be 

tested as specified in A-A-20043D, and this NOTE shall be applied to that testing process:

NOTE: The following conditions apply for Salmonella and microbiological testing:

(1) For prepackaged product received from a supplier and is not further 

processed, the contractor will furnish a Certificate of Analysis (CoA) that the 
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product represented is Salmonella negative and meets all microbiological 

requirements.

(2) For bulk product received, the contractor is responsible for providing a CoA

stating that the bulk product is Salmonella negative and meets all 

microbiological requirements. USDA Salmonella and additional 

microbiological testing is required for each end item lot and shall be the basis 

for lot acceptance with respect to Salmonella and other microbiological testing 

requirements.

E-6 QUALITY ASSURANCE PROVISIONS (PACKAGING AND PACKING 

MATERIALS)

 A. Packaging and labeling.

(1) Packet material certification. Conformance to thickness of packet laminate foil 

shall be determined by a Certificate of Conformance.

(2) Filled and sealed packet examination. The filled and sealed packets shall be 

examined for the defects listed in table II. The sample size shall be expressed in packets. The 

sample unit shall be one packet. The inspection level shall be I and the AQL, expressed in 

terms of defects per hundred units, shall be 0.65 for major defects and 2.5 for minor defects.

TABLE II. Filled and sealed packet defects 1/

Category Defect

Major Minor

101 Tear or hole or open seal, or sifter. 2/

102 Packet dimensions exceed maximum length and width as 

specified.

103 Packet crushed or misshapen resulting in two or more creases in 

the product area of the packet. 
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104 Leakage. 3/

105 Seal separation. 3/

106 Delamination or degradation. 3/

107 Packet not heat sealed on all four edges with minimum 1/8 inch 

wide seals.

108 Unclean packet.

109 Packet has foreign odor.

110 Seal width less than 1/8 inch. 4/

201 Label missing or incorrect or illegible.

1/ Any evidence of rodent or insect infestation shall be cause for rejection of the lot.

2/ A sifter is a packet which loses any amount of contents when shaken vigorously.

3/ Examine packet after removal from leakage test apparatus.

4/ The effective closure seal is defined as any uncontaminated, fusion bonded, continuous 

path, minimum 1/8 inch wide, from side to side seal that produces a hermetically sealed 

pouch.

 B. Methods of Inspection.

(1) Leakage test. The filled and sealed packets shall be tested by placing them in a dry 

desiccator, or similar apparatus, and subjecting them to a vacuum of 26 inches of mercury 

(atmospheric pressure is 29.9 inches of mercury) for 30 seconds. Any packet that does not 

swell to form a tightly distended package having at least one distorted edge during the test 

shall be recorded as a leaker. After vacuum testing, the packets shall be visually inspected for 

evidence of delamination and for seal separation. Any leakage, any delamination, or any seal 

separation of more than 1/16 inch from the product edge of any seal shall be recorded as a 

defect.

 C. Packing.
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(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 defects

Category Defect

Major Minor

101 Marking missing or incorrect or illegible.

102 Inadequate workmanship. 1/

201 More than 40 pounds of product.

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.

SECTION J REFERENCE DOCUMENTS

Unless otherwise specified, the applicable version of these documents is that which is active 

on the date of the solicitation or contract.

DLA Troop Support Form

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

Perishable and Semiperishable Subsistence

NON-GOVERNMENTAL STANDARDS

AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR QUALITY (ASQ) www.asq.org
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ANSI/ASQZ1.4 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

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