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SECTION C

This document covers thermostabilized apple dessert packaged in a polymeric tray for use 

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

C-1 ITEM DESCRIPTION

PCR-A-003, APPLE DESSERT, PACKAGED IN A POLYMERIC TRAY, SHELF STABLE

C-2 PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS

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

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

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

 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 800F.

 D. Appearance.

(1) General. The finished product shall be cooked apple dessert. The finished 

product shall contain not less than 70 percent by weight of intact apple slices. The 

apple dessert shall have a cooked color. The packaged food shall be free from foreign 

materials.

(2) Apple slices. The apple slices shall be uniform slices measuring not less than 

1-1/4 inches in length and 3/4 + 1/4 inch in thickness. The apple slices shall have been 

produced from fresh apples meeting the requirements for U.S. No. 2 or better of the U.S. 

Standards for Grades of Apples for Processing. 

(3) Sauce. The sauce shall be glossy, translucent light golden color.

 E. Odor and flavor. The packaged food shall have an odor and flavor of apple dessert. 

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

 F. Texture. 

(1) Apple slices. The apple slices shall be moderately firm.

(2) Sauce. The sauce shall be smooth. 

 G. Net Weight. The average net weight shall be not less than 92 ounces. No individual 

polymeric tray shall have a net weight of less than 90 ounces.

 H. Drained weight of apple slices. The average drained weight shall be not less than 

45.0 ounces. The drained weight of the apple slices in an individual tray 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.
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 J. Nutrient content.

(1) Trans fat. The trans fat content shall be not greater than 0 grams per serving.

 JK. Analytical requirements.

(1) pH. The pH shall be in the range of 2.80 to 3.80.

C-3 MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION

THE FOLLOWING IS INFORMATION ONLY TO PROVIDE THE BENEFIT OF PAST GOVERNMENT EXPERIENCE. 

THIS IS NOT A MANDATORY CONTRACT REQUIREMENT.

 A. Ingredients/formulation. Ingredients and formulation percentages for the sauce may

be as follows:

 

Ingredients Percent by weight

Single strength apple juice 36.96

Granulated sugar 35.70

Water 14.94

Margarine 5.57

Modified waxy maize starch 4.56

Single strength lemon juice 1/ 1.52 

Salt 2/ 0.25

Ground cinnamon 0.25

Ground nutmeg 0.25

1/ The total amount of lemon juice may be adjusted to ensure compliance with finished 

product pH requirements.

2/ The total amount of salt may be adjusted to ensure compliance with the finished 

product salt requirements.

SECTION D

D-1 PACKAGING

 A. Preservation. Product shall be filled into polymeric trays and the trays with 

protective sleeves shall conform to the requirements of section 3 of MIL-PRF-32004A, 

Packaging of Food in Polymeric Trays. Verification testing and inspection of trays, lids 

and sleeves shall be in accordance with Section 4 of MIL-PRF-32004A and the Quality 

Assurance Provisions of Section E of this Performance-based Contract Requirements 

document.

 B. Polymeric tray closure. The filled, sealed, and processed tray shall be securely 

closed.

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-PRF-32004A) 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. To avoid erroneous marking of trays, 
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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 when authorized by

the inspection agency.

(2) Tray code includes: 2/

 Lot Number

 Filling equipment identification number

 Retort identification number

 Retort cook number

 Company code

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, 17 May 2002 would be coded as 2137). 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.

 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.

(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 FDA regulations

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

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.
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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.

YIELD: Serves 18 portions of approximately 2/3 cup each.

(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: 

APPLE DESSERT

D-3 PACKING

 A. Packing for shipment to ration assembler. Four filled, sealed, processed and 

sleeved polymeric trays shall be packed in a snug fitting fiberboard box conforming to 

style RSC-L, type CF, grade 275 of ASTM D 5118/D5118M, Standard Practice for Fabrication 

of Fiberboard Shipping Boxes. The sleeved trays shall be placed flat with the first two 

trays placed with the lids together and the next two trays with the lids together. The 

box shall be closed 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 Shipping Cases, Sacks 

and Palletized/Containerized 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. 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 
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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 Soldier & Biological Chemical Command

Soldiers System Ctr., Natick Soldier Center

Attn: AMSSB-RCF-F(N)

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 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 below. 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.
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TABLE I. Product defects 1/ 2/ 3/ 4/ 5/

Category Defect

Major Minor

Appearance

101 Product not apple dessert.

102 Finished product does not contain at least 70 percent by weight of 

intact apple slices.

201 Apple dessert not a cooked color.

202 Sauce not a glossy, translucent light golden color.

Odor and flavor

103 The packaged food does not have an odor or flavor of apple dessert. 

Texture

203 Apple slices not moderately firm.

204 Sauce not smooth.

Net weight

205 Net weight of an individual polymeric tray is less than 90 ounces. 56/

Drained weight

206 Drained weight of apple slices in an individual polymeric tray is less 

than 43.0 ounces. 67/

1/ Presence of any foreign material 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/ Size requirement for apple slices shall be verified by certificate of conformance.

4/ Grade requirements shall be verified by a USDA grading certificate.

5/ The trans fat content shall be verified by the NLEA “Nutrition Facts” label. Product 

not conforming to the trans fat content as specified in Section C of this document shall 

be cause for rejection of the lot.

56/ Sample average net weight less than 92 ounces shall be cause for rejection of the 

lot.

67/ Sample average drained weight less than 45.0 ounces shall be cause for rejection of 

the lot. 
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 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 3 year shelf life when stored at 800F. Government verification may include 

storage for 6 months at 1000F or 36 months at 800F. 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 polymeric tray shall be 

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

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

(4) Drained weight. To determine drained weight, the contents of the tray shall be 

poured into a flat-bottom container. A minimum of three times the polymeric tray’s volume 

of 1800F to 1900F water shall be added to the container so as to cover the contents. The 

contents and water shall be agitated so as to remove the sauce without breaking the apple 

slices. 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 apple slices. 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. 

(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 

Official Methods of Analysis of AOAC International (OMA).

Test Method Number

pH 981.12

Sample preparation 983.18

Test results shall be reported to the nearest 0.10 unit for pH. 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, 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 polymeric tray with protective sleeve and 

polymeric tray material shall be examined for the characteristics listed in table I of 

MIL-PRF-32004A, Packaging of Food in Polymeric Trays. Utilizing the single sampling plans 

indicated in ANSI/ASQC Z1.4 – 1993, the lot size, sample unit, and inspection level 

criteria are provided in table II below for each of the test characteristics. Any test 

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

lot. For rough handling survivability at frozen temperature, polymeric tray survival rate 

shall be at least 85 percent. 
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TABLE II. Polymeric tray quality assurance criteria

Prior to processing

Characteristic Lot size 

expressed in

Sample

unit

Inspection 

level

Tray configurations and dimensions Trays 1 tray S-1

Oxygen gas transmission rate of tray Trays 1 tray S-1

Oxygen gas transmission rate of lid Yards 1/2 yard S-1

Water vapor transmission rate of tray Trays 1 tray S-1

Water vapor transmission rate of lid Yards 1/2 yard S-1

Camouflage Containers 1 container S-1

After processing

Characteristic Lot size

expressed in

Sample

unit

Inspection 

level

Processing Trays 1 tray S-2

Rough handling survivability Test containers 1 container S-2

Protective sleeve Containers 1 container S-1

Residual gas Containers 1 container S-1

Closure seal Containers 1 container S-1

Internal pressure Containers 1 container S-1

Lid opening Containers 1 container S-1

(2) Examination of container. The container with protective sleeve removed shall be 

examined for the defects listed in table II of MIL-PRF-32004A and the labeling defects 

listed in table III below. The lot size shall be expressed in containers. The sample unit 

shall be one processed and labeled container. Utilizing the single sampling plans 

indicated in ANSI/ASQC Z1.4 – 1993, 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.

TABLE III. Container labeling defects

Category Defect

Major A Minor

101 Polymeric tray lid or body labeling missing, 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 D 3330/D 3330M, Standard Test Method for Peel 
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Adhesion of Pressure-Sensitive Tape. In lieu of testing, a certificate of conformance 

(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 IV below. The lot size shall 

be expressed in shipping containers. Utilizing the single sampling plans indicated in 

ANSI/ASQC Z1.4 – 1993, 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 IV. Shipping container and marking defects

Category Defect

Major Minor

101 Marking omitted, incorrect, illegible, or improper size, location 

sequence or method of application.

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.

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

DSCP FORM 3556 Marking Instructions for Shipping Cases, Sacks and

Palletized/Containerized Loads of Perishable and Semiperishable 

Subsistence

MILITARY SPECIFICATIONS

MIL-PRF-32004A Packaging of Food in Polymeric Trays

GOVERNMENT PUBLICATIONS

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)

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

AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR TESTING AND MATERIALS (ASTM)
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D 1974 Standard Practice for Methods of Closing, Sealing, and 

Reinforcing Fiberboard Boxes

D 3330/D 3330M Standard Test Method for Peel Adhesion of Pressure-Sensitive 

Tape

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

AOAC INTERNATIONAL

Official Methods of Analysis of the AOAC International (OMA)