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SECTION C 

This document covers thermostabilized au gratin potatoes packaged in a flexible pouch for 

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

C-1 ITEM DESCRIPTION 

PCR-P-048, POTATOES, AU GRATIN, PACKAGED IN A FLEXIBLE POUCH, 

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 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. 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 cooked sliced potatoes uniformly 

distributed throughout a cheese sauce. The finished product shall be free from foreign 

materials. 

(2) Potatoes. The potato slices may be of random size and shall be produced by 

equipment with settings that result in slices not less than 3/16 inch in thickness. The cooked 

potato slices shall have an off-white color. The finished product shall contain a minimum of 

5 intact potato slices with minimum dimensions of 1.5 inches in length by 1 inch in width 

throughout the slice. 

(3) Cheese sauce. The cheese sauce shall be creamy, smooth, homogenous and 

moderately thick. The cheese sauce shall be a light yellow-orange color. 
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 E. Odor and flavor. The packaged food shall have an odor and flavor of cooked potatoes in 

a cheese sauce. The packaged food shall be free from foreign odors and flavors. 

 F. Texture. 

(1) Potatoes. The potatoes shall be slightly firm and tender. 

(2) Cheese sauce. The cheese sauce shall be creamy, smooth, homogenous and 

moderately thick. 

 G. Net weight. The average net weight shall be not less than 5.0 ounces (142 grams). The 

net weight of an individual pouch shall be not less than 4.5 ounces (128 grams). 

 H. Drained weight. The average drained weight of potatoes shall be not less than 2.9 

ounces (82 grams). The drained weight of potatoes in an individual pouch shall be not less 

than 2.2 ounces (62 grams). 

 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 8.0 percent. 

(2) Salt content. The salt content shall be not greater than 1.2 percent. 

C-3 MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION 

THE FOLLOWING IS FOR INFORMATION ONLY. THIS IS NOT A MANDATORY 

CONTRACT REQUIREMENT.

 A. Ingredients. Water, potatoes, cream, cheddar cheese product (pasteurized milk, cultures, 

salt, enzymes, water, enzyme modified cheese [pasteurized milk, cultures, salt, enzymes, 

natural flavors, citric acid, lactic acid], whey, powdered cellulose, sodium caseinate, salt, 

yeast extract, vegetable color), natural cheese flavor (cheddar cheese [milk culture, salt, 

enzymes] salt, yeast extract, corn oil, dry vegetable shortening, unsalted butter (cream, 

flavorings), sweet cream powder, sugar, dry mustard, disodium inosinate/disodium guanylate 

and potassium sorbate), contains 2 percent or less of modified food starch, unsalted butter 

(cream, natural flavorings), soybean oil, salt, carrageenan, onion powder, sugar, garlic 

powder, spices, sodium metabisulfite. 
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NOTE: The product used for the development of this PCR was produced by The Wornick 

Company, Cincinnati, OH 45242. 

 B. Cheese sauce color standard. The color is approximately # 3 on the National Cheese 

Institute Cheese Color Standard, from Cargill Foods, Phone 1-800-342-5724, 

www.cargill.com. 

SECTION D 

D-1 PACKAGING 

Product shall be filled into pouches and sealed in accordance with MIL-PRF-44073, 

Packaging of Food in Flexible Pouches, Type I, Style 1. 

D-2 LABELING 

A. Pouches. Each pouch shall be correctly and legibly labeled. Printing ink shall be 

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

Prior to thermal processing of the pouches, the product name, lot number, filling equipment 

number and time stamp shall be applied. All other marking may be applied before or after 

thermal processing. 

(1) Product name (not less than 1/8 inch high). Commonly used abbreviations may 

be used. 

(2) Pouch code includes: 1/ 

 Lot Number

 Filling equipment identification number

 Company code 

 Retort identification number and Retort cook number (Optional) 

 Time stamp (hour and minute of filling/sealing operation) 

1/ 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 2011 would be coded as 1045). The Julian code shall represent the day the 

product was packaged into the pouch and processed. Following the four digit Julian code, the 

other required code information shall be printed in the sequence as listed above. 

 B. Paperboard sleeves. 
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(1) The sleeves shall be clearly printed on one of the panels with permanent black ink 

as follows: 1/ 2/ 

Product name (7/32 to 9/32 inch block letters) 

Ingredients 

Net weight 

Name and address of packer

Code (same as pouch code, see pouches) 1/ 2/ 3/

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

Act (NLEA) and all applicable FDA regulations 

1/ With contracting officer approval, this information may be printed on the pouch or on a 

separate paperboard insert card in lieu of the paperboard sleeve. 

2/ If printed on the sleeve, it shall be configured to fit alongside similar information for an 

accompanying pouched product. Identity of accompanying pouched product and approval of 

label design shall be obtained from the contracting officer. 

(2) The product shall be formulated and labeled in accordance with all FDA labeling 

regulations and policies. The sleeves (or pouches, or insert cards, as applicable) shall be 

labeled with the following product name. 

AU GRATIN POTATOES 

D-3 PACKING 

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

box constructed in accordance with style RSC of ASTM D 5118/D 5118M, Standard Practice 

for Fabrication of Fiberboard Shipping Boxes. The fiberboard shall conform to type CF, class 

D, variety SW, grade 200 of ASTM D 4727/D 4727M, Standard Specification for Corrugated 

and Solid Fiberboard Sheet Stock (Container Grade) and Cut Shapes. Each box shall be 

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

and Reinforcing Fiberboard Boxes. 

D-5 MARKING 

 A. Shipping containers. Shipping containers shall be marked in accordance with DSCP 

FORM 3556, Marking Instructions for Boxes, Sacks, and Unit Loads of Perishable and 

Semiperishable Subsistence. 
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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: 

(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 Research, Development and Engineering Center 

RDNS-CFF 

15 Kansas Street 

 Natick, MA 01760-5056 

One lot shall be randomly selected during each calendar month of production. Six (6) sample 

units of each item produced shall be randomly selected from that one production lot. The six 
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(6) 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/tests and methods of inspection cited in this section and in Section 4 of MILPRF-44073. 

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/ASQ Z1.4. 

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

pouch. 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. For drained weight inspection, a 

separate set of pouches shall be selected from the lot using the same sampling criteria as 

above. The pouches shall be immersed in not less than 140F water for 10 minutes prior to 

conducting the product examination and the drained weight inspection. 
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TABLE I. Product defects 1/ 2/ 3/

Category Defect 

Major Minor

 Appearance 

101 Product not cooked sliced potatoes uniformly distributed throughout a 

cheese sauce. 

 201 Product does not contain a minimum of 5 intact potato slices with minimum 

dimensions of 1.5 inches in length by 1 inch in width throughout the slice. 

 202 Cooked potato slices not an off-white color. 

 203 Cheese sauce not creamy or not smooth or not homogenous or not 

moderately thick. 

 204 Cheese sauce not a light yellow-orange color. 

 Odor and flavor 

102 Product does not have an odor or flavor of cooked potatoes in a cheese 

sauce. 

 Texture 

 205 Potatoes not slightly firm or not tender. 

 206 Cheese sauce not creamy or not smooth or not homogenous or not 

moderately thick. 

 Net weight 

 207 Net weight of an individual pouch less than 4.5 ounces (128 grams). 4/ 

 Drained weight 

 208 Drained weight of potatoes in an individual pouch less than 2.2 ounces (62 

grams). 5/
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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/ Equipment settings for potato slice thickness requirement shall be verified by producer’s 

Certificate of Conformance (CoC). 

4/ Sample average net weight less than 5.0 ounces (142 grams) shall be cause for rejection of 

the lot. 

5/ Sample average drained weight of potatoes less than 2.9 ounces (82 grams) shall be cause 

for rejection of the lot. 

 B. Methods of inspection. 

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

FDA 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 hedonic scale 

to be considered acceptable. 

 (3) Net weight. The net weight of the filled and sealed pouches shall be determined 

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

shall be reported to the nearest 0.1 ounce or to the nearest 1 gram. 

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

A minimum of three times the volume of the pouch 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 and to remove the sauce without breaking the potatoes. 

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 potatoes. 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 assure complete drainage of liquid from the product. 

Drain product for two minutes before determining the drained weight by subtracting the sieve 
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tare weight from the gross weight. The drained weight shall be reported to the nearest 0.1 

ounce or to the nearest 1 gram. 

(5) Analytical. The sample to be analyzed shall be a composite of eight filled and 

sealed pouches which have been selected at random from the 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 985.15, 991.36, 2007.04, 2008.06 

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 nonconforming results 

shall be cause for rejection of the lot. 

E-6 QUALITY ASSURANCE PROVISIONS (PACKAGING AND PACKING 

MATERIALS) 

 A. Packaging. 

(1) Pouch material testing. The pouch material shall be examined for the 

characteristics listed in table I of MIL-PRF-44073 for Type I. The lot size, sample unit, and 

inspection level criteria for each of the test characteristics are listed below. Any test failure 

shall be classified as a major defect and shall be cause for rejection of the lot. 

Characteristic Lot size expressed in Sample unit Inspection level 

Oxygen transmission rate yards 1/2 yard S-1 

Water vapor transmission rate yards 1/2 yard S-1 

Camouflage yards 1/2 yard S-1 

Thermal processing pouches 1 pouch S-2 

Low temperature pouches 1 pouch S-2 

High temperature pouches 1 pouch S-2 

Directional tear pouches 1 pouch S-3 

(2) Filled and sealed pouch testing. The filled and sealed thermoprocessed or hot-fill 

processed pouches shall be examined for the characteristics listed in table I of MIL-PRF44073 for Type I. The lot size, sample unit, and inspection level criteria for each of the test 

characteristics are listed below. Any test failure shall be classified as a major defect and shall 

be cause for rejection of the lot. 
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Characteristic Lot size expressed in Sample unit Inspection level 

Residual gas volume pouches 1 pouch S-2 

Internal pressure pouches 1 pouch S-2 1/

1/ When a three-seal tester is used, a separate set of samples is required for testing of the 

closure seal. 

(3) Pouch examination. The pouches shall be examined for the defects listed in table 

II of MIL-PRF-44073 for Type I. The lot size shall be expressed in pouches. The sample unit 

shall be one thermal processed pouch. 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. 

(4) Sleeve examination 1/. The sleeves shall be examined for the defects listed in 

table III of MIL-PRF-44073 for Type I. The lot size shall be expressed in units of sleeves. 

The sample unit shall be one sleeve. The inspection level shall be S-3 and the AQL, 

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

minor defects. 

1/ Or separate paperboard insert card when used in lieu of the paperboard sleeve. 

 B. Packing. 

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

containers shall be examined for the defects listed in table II. 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 More than 40 pounds of product. 
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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 issues of these documents are those active on the date of the 

solicitation or contract.

DLA Troop Support - Subsistence FORMS 

DSCP FORM 3556 Marking Instructions for Boxes, Sacks, and Unit Loads of 

Perishable and Semiperishable Subsistence 

MILITARY SPECIFICATIONS 

MIL-PRF-44073 Packaging of Food in Flexible Pouches 

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

D 1974 Standard Practice for Methods of Closing, Sealing, and 

Reinforcing Fiberboard Boxes 

D 4727/D 4727M Standard Specification for Corrugated and Solid 

Fiberboard Sheet Stock (Container Grade) and Cut Shapes 

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

Boxes 

AOAC INTERNATIONAL www.aoac.org

Official Methods of Analysis (OMA) of AOAC International