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SECTION C

This document covers thermostabilized turkey sausage links in brine packaged in a No. 10 

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

C-1 ITEM DESCRIPTION

PCR-T-012, TURKEY SAUSAGE LINKS IN BRINE, PACKAGED IN A No. 10 CAN, 

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 non 

comparable to the Product Standard, the contractor shall arrange for a new or alternate 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 80°F.

 D. Appearance.

(1) General. The finished product shall be turkey sausage links in brine. Each 

individual can shall contain not less than 75 intact sausage links. The packaged food shall be 

free from foreign materials.

(2) Turkey sausage links. The turkey sausage links shall be intact, shall be uniform in 

diameter and length after cooking, and shall be practically free of skin, bone or bone 

fragments, cartilage, coarse connective tissue, tendons or ligaments, and discolored meat. 

The links shall have a light tan to brown surface color. 

 E. Odor and flavor. The packaged food shall have a well blended, slightly spicy turkey 

sausage odor and flavor. The packaged food shall be free from foreign odors and flavors.
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 F. Texture. The texture of the turkey sausage links shall be moist and moderately firm.

 G. Net weight. The average net weight shall be not less than 94 ounces. No individual can 

shall have a net weight of less than 92 ounces.

 H. Drained weight. The average drained weight shall be not less than 45.0 ounces. The 

drained weight of 75 intact sausage links in an individual can shall be not less than 43.0 

ounces.

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

the approved product standard in palatability and overall appearance.

 J. Analytical requirements.

(1) Fat content. The fat content shall be not greater than 17.0 percent. 

(2) Salt content. The salt content shall be not less than 0.7 percent and not greater 

than 1.3 percent.

C-3 MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION

THE FOLLOWING INGREDIENTS ARE PROVIDED FOR INFORMATION ONLY. 

THIS IS NOT A MANDATORY REQUIREMENT.

 A. Ingredients. The product shall consist of mechanically separated turkey, water, and 2 

percent or less of citric acid, dextrose, natural flavors, salt, spices and sugar. 

NOTE: Pre-browned heat and serve turkey sausage links manufactured by Rose Packing, 

Barrington, IL were used in the development of this product.

SECTION D

D-1 PACKAGING 

 A. Packaging. Seventy-five intact sausage links shall be packaged in a No. 10 metal can 

(603 x 700) in accordance with good commercial practice. The filled can shall be 

hermetically sealed under a vacuum of not less than 20 inches (50.8 cm) of mercury. The 

filled, sealed, and processed can shall conform to the United States Standards for Condition 

of Food Containers.

D-2 LABELING
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 A. Labeling of metal cans. Labeling of metal cans shall be as specified in DSCP FORM 

2997, Labeling of Metal Cans for Subsistence.

D-3 PACKING

 A. Packing. Six cans of product shall be packed in a fiberboard shipping container 

conforming to style RSC, grade W5c or W5s of ASTM D 5118/D 5118M, Standard Practice 

for Fabrication of Fiberboard Shipping Boxes. Each shipping container shall be closed and 

reinforced in accordance with ASTM D 1974, Standard Practice for Methods of Closing, 

Sealing, and Reinforcing Fiberboard Boxes. 

D-4 UNITIZATION

 A. Unit loads. Unit loads shall be as specified in DSCP FORM 3507, Loads, Unit: 

Preparation of Semiperishable Subsistence Items. 

D-5 MARKING

 A. Shipping containers and unit loads. Marking of shipping containers and unit loads shall 

be as specified in DSCP 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/ASQC Z1.4-1993, Sampling 

Procedures and Tables for Inspection by Attributes, are required. Unless otherwise specified, 

Single Sampling Plans indicated in ANSI/ASQC Z1.4-1993 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. 
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(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 overall 

appearance and palatability. Any failure to conform to the performance requirements or any 

appearance or palatability failure, shall be cause for rejection of the lot. 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:

US Army Research, Development and Engineering Command

Natick Soldier Center

AMSRD-NSC-CF-F

15 Kansas Street

Natick, MA 01760-5018

One lot shall be randomly selected during each calendar month of production. Two (2) 

sample units of each item produced shall be randomly selected from that one production lot. 

The two (2) sample units shall be shipped to Natick within five working days from the end of 

the production month and upon completion of all USDA inspection requirements. The 

sample units will be evaluated for the characteristics of appearance, odor, flavor, texture and 

overall quality.

(2) Conformance inspection. Conformance inspection shall include the examinations 

and the 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 

Requirements document utilizing the double sampling plans indicated in ANSI/ASQC Z1.4 -

1993. The lot size shall be expressed in cans. The sample unit shall be the contents of one 

can. 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. 
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Defects and defect classifications are listed in table I below. The samples for drained weight 

inspection shall be selected using the same sampling criteria as above.

TABLE I. Product defects 1/ 2/ 3/ 

Category Defect

Major Minor

Appearance

101 Product not turkey sausage links in brine.

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

dimension.

103 More than three sausage links per can not intact.

201 Surface color not light tan to brown.

202 Sausage links not of uniform diameter or not of uniform length.

203 Total weight of skin, cartilage, coarse connective tissue, tendons or 

ligaments, and discolored meat more than 1.0 ounce.

Odor and flavor

104 The packaged food does not have an odor or flavor of cooked, well 

blended, slightly spicy turkey sausage.

Texture

204 Sausages not moist or not moderately firm.

Net weight

205 Net weight of an individual can less than 92 ounces. 4/

Drained weight

206 Drained weight of 75 intact turkey sausage links in an individual can 

less than 43.0 ounces. 5/
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1/ Presence of any foreign materials such as, but not limited to dirt, insect parts, hair, wood, 

glass, metal, or mold, or any foreign odors or flavors such as, but not limited to burnt, 

scorched, rancid, sour, or stale 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 can containing less than 75 intact sausage links shall be 

cause for rejection of the lot.

4/ Sample average net weight less than 94 ounces shall be cause for rejection of the lot.

5/ Sample average drained weight less than 45.0 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. 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 can shall be determined by 

weighing each sample unit on a suitable scale tared with a representative empty can and lid. 

Results shall be reported to the nearest 1 ounce. 

(4) Drained weight. The can contents shall be poured into a flat-bottom container. A 

minimum of three times the can's volume of not less than 140°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 sausage links. The contents shall then be poured 

into a U.S. Standard 1/4 inch sieve in a manner that will distribute the product over the sieve 

without breaking the sausage links. 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 so as to assure complete drainage of all liquid from the product. The product shall be 

drained for 2 minutes before determining the drained weight. Determine the drained weight 

by subtracting the sieve tare weight from the gross weight. The drained weight shall be 

reported to the nearest 0.5 ounce.
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(5) Analytical. The sample to be analyzed shall be a one-pound composite of turkey 

sausage links from three thoroughly drained cans that have been selected at random from one 

production lot. The composite sample shall be prepared and analyzed in accordance with the 

following Official Methods of Analysis (OMA) of AOAC International.

Test Method Number

Fat 985.15 or 2008.06

Salt 935.47 or 971.27

Test results shall be reported to the nearest 0.1 percent. Verification will be conducted 

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

analytical requirements shall be cause for rejection of the lot.

E-6 QUALITY ASSURANCE PROVISIONS (PACKAGING AND PACKING 

MATERIALS, No. 10 CAN)

 A. Packaging.

(1) Can condition examination. Examination of filled and sealed cans shall be in 

accordance with the United States Standards for Condition of Food Containers. In addition, 

scratches, scuffs or abrasions that occur on the outside coating as a result of the filling, 

sealing, and processing of the cans shall not be scored as a defect.

(2) Can closure examination. Can closures shall be examined visually and by 

teardowns in accordance with the can manufacturer's requirement and 21 CFR, Part 113, 

Subpart D, or 9 CFR, Part 318, Subpart G, as applicable. Any nonconformance based on 

observation of can seam teardowns or on record of can seam teardowns shall be classified as 

a major defect and shall be cause for rejection of any involved product.

(3) Can vacuum examination. The filled and sealed cans selected for the product 

examination shall be examined for vacuum. The cans and contents shall be allowed to reach 

70° to 80°F. The vacuum reading shall be taken with a puncture-type vacuum gauge making 

the puncture as near as possible to the double seam to minimize error due to distortion of the 

end. A correction of 1 inch of vacuum shall be added to the gauge reading for each 1000 feet 

above sea level at which the determination is made. Failure of any can to meet the vacuum 

requirement of 5 inches shall be cause for rejection of the lot.

 B. Labeling.
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(1) Can labeling examination. The can labeling shall be examined in accordance with 

the requirements of DSCP FORM 2997, Labeling of Metal Cans for Subsistence.

 C. Packing.

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

containers shall be examined for the defects listed in table II below. 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 II. Shipping container and marking defects

Category Defect

Major Minor

101 Marking missing or incorrect or illegible.

102 Inadequate workmanship. 1/

201 Number of cans 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.

 D. Unitization.

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

requirements of DSCP FORM 3507, Loads, Unit: Preparation of Semiperishable Subsistence 

Items. Any nonconformance shall be classified as a major defect.

SECTION J REFERENCE DOCUMENTS

DSCP FORMS

DSCP FORM 2997 Labeling of Metal Cans for Subsistence

DSCP FORM 3507 Loads, Unit: Preparation of Semiperishable Subsistence Items

DSCP FORM 3556 Marking Instructions for Shipping Boxes, Sacks and

Unit Loads of Perishable and Semiperishable Subsistence

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

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

U.S. Standards for Condition of Food Containers

NON-GOVERNMENTAL STANDARDS

AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR QUALITY (ASQ)

ANSI/ASQCZ1.4-1993 Sampling Procedures and Tables for Inspection by Attributes

ASTM INTERNATIONAL

D 1974-98 (2003) Standard Practice for Methods of Closing, Sealing, and 

Reinforcing Fiberboard Boxes

D 5118/D 5118M-05 Standard Practice for Fabrication of Fiberboard Shipping 

Boxes

AOAC INTERNATIONAL

Official Methods of Analysis (OMA) of the AOAC International