PCR-M-015

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SECTION C

This document covers thermostabilized meatballs in marinara sauce in a flexible pouch for 

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

C-1 ITEM DESCRIPTION

PCR-M-015, MEATBALLS IN MARINARA SAUCE, 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 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 intact meatballs in marinara sauce. The 

packaged food shall be free from foreign materials.

(2) Meatballs. The meatballs shall have a cooked ground beef color. The meatballs 

shall not contain pork. The meatballs may be rounded and irregular in shape and size. The 

cooked meatballs shall be practically free of bone or bone fragments, cartilage, coarse 

connective tissue, tendons or ligaments, and glandular material.

(3) Sauce. The sauce shall be an opaque red to reddish brown color. The sauce shall 

have small pieces of tomato, onion, and flecks of herbs. 
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 E. Odor and flavor. The packaged food shall have a cooked beef, tomato and onion odor 

and flavor and shall be mildly seasoned with Italian herbs and spices. The packaged food 

shall be free from foreign odors and flavors.

 F. Texture.

(1) Meatballs. The cooked meatballs shall be moist, tender and shall not be mushy. 

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

 G. Net weight. The average net weight of the pouched product shall be not less than 8.0 

ounces (227 grams). No individual pouch shall have a net weight of less than 7.5 ounces (213 

grams). 

 H. Drained weight. The average drained weight of meatballs shall be not less than 2.7 

ounces (76 grams). The drained weight of meatballs in an individual pouch shall be not less 

than 2.4 ounces (68 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 10 percent. 

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

than 1.4 percent.

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 and filling 
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equipment number 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 when authorized 

by the inspection agency.

(2) Pouch code includes: 1/

 Lot Number

 Filling equipment identification number

 Official establishment number (Optional) 

 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, 

30 August 2006 would be coded as 6242). 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.

(3) USDA official inspection legend for the packer’s plant 1/

1/ May be placed on the paperboard sleeve if labeled under USDA/FSIS supervision as an 

identification service.

 B. Paperboard sleeves.

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

as follows: 1/

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

Ingredients 

Net weight

Name and address of packer

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

Education Act (NLEA) and all applicable FDA/USDA regulations
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1/ With contracting officer approval, this information may be printed on the pouch in lieu of 

the paperboard sleeve.

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

labeling regulations and policies. The sleeves (or pouches, as applicable) shall be labeled 

with the following product name:

MEATBALLS IN MARINARA SAUCE

D-3 PACKING

 A. Packing for shipment to ration assembler. Seventy-two pouches (of the same product) in 

cartons shall be packed flat or on edge in a snug-fitting fiberboard shipping container 

conforming to style RSC, type CF, class domestic, grade 200 of ASTM D 5118/D 5118M, 

Standard Practice for Fabrication of Fiberboard Shipping Boxes. Each container shall be 

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

Closing, Sealing, and Reinforcing Fiberboard Boxes.

D-4 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.

SECTION E INSPECTION AND ACCEPTANCE

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

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

Sampling Plans indicated in ANSI/ASQC 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 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:

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. Six (6) sample 

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

(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/ASQC Z1.4. 
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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.

TABLE I. Product defects 1/ 2/ 3/

Category Defect

Major Minor

Appearance

101 Product not intact meatballs in marinara sauce.

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

dimension.

201 Meatballs not a cooked ground beef color.

202 Sauce not an opaque red to reddish brown color.

203 Sauce does not have small pieces of tomato or onion or flecks of 

herbs.

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

ligaments, and glandular material more than 0.35 ounces.

TABLE I. Product defects 1/ 2/ 3/ - Continued

Category Defect

Major Minor

Odor and flavor

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

tomato or onion mildly seasoned with Italian herbs and spices.

Texture

205 Meatballs not moist or not tender.

206 Meatballs mushy.
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207 Sauce not moderately thick.

Net weight

208 Net weight of an individual pouch less than 7.5 ounces (213 grams). 

4/

Drained weight

209 Drained weight of meatballs in an individual pouch less than 2.4 

ounces (68 grams). 5/

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 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(2) of this document shall be cause for rejection of the lot.

4/ Sample average net weight less than 8.0 ounces (227 grams) shall be cause for rejection of 

the lot.

5/ Sample average drained weight for meatballs less than 2.7 ounces (76 grams) shall be 

cause for rejection of the lot.

 B. Methods of inspection.

(1) Commercial sterility. Testing for commercial sterility shall be 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 hedonic scale 

to be considered acceptable.
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(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 gram.

(4) Drained weight. Use a U.S. Standard No. 8 sieve for the drained weight 

examination. Heat all the pouches at the same time for 10 minutes in hot water. 1/ Pour the 

contents of the pouch into a flat-bottom container and repeatedly add hot water until all of the 

product has been removed from the pouch. 1/ Additional hot water may be added to the flatbottom container so as to cover all of the contents. 1/ The mixture shall be gently agitated so 

as to liquefy rendered fat without breaking the product. 2/ The mixture shall not sit for 

greater than two minutes. The contents shall then be poured into the sieve in a manner that 

will distribute the product over the sieve without breaking up the product. 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 an angle from 30 to 45 degrees to ensure complete drainage 

of liquid from the product. Drain product for two minutes. Place the sieve and its contents 

onto the scale and tare the scale to zero. Remove the meatballs from the sieve by turning the 

sieve upside down and dumping the product. Place the sieve back on the scale and record the 

weight as a positive number. This value is the drained weight of the meatballs. When 

necessary, rinse the screen before performing the next drained weight exam. The drained 

weight shall be reported to the nearest 0.1 ounce or to the nearest 1 gram. 3/

1/ Water temperature shall be not less than 140°F and not greater than 165°F.

2/ Additional hot water may be required for completely removing sauce and liquefying 

rendered fat.

3/ The initial unit of measurement shall be maintained throughout the exam (example: if 

ounce is used, the unit of measurement shall remain as ounces throughout the exam).

(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 composited 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 or 2008.06

Salt 935.47, 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 nonconforming results shall be 
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cause for rejection of the lot.

E-6 QUALITY ASSURANCE PROVISIONS (PACKAGING AND PACKING 

MATERIALS)

 A. Packaging and labeling.

(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.

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.

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.
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(4) Sleeve examination. 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.

 B. 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 Contents more or less than 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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SECTION J REFERENCE DOCUMENTS

DSCP 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)

ANSI/ASQCZ1.4-2003 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-05a Standard Practice for Fabrication of Fiberboard Shipping 

Boxes 

AOAC INTERNATIONAL

Official Methods of Analysis (OMA) of the Association of Analytical Chemists 

International