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SECTION C

This document covers thermostabilized Mexican style chicken stew packaged in a flexible

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

C-1 ITEM DESCRIPTION

PCR-M-016, MEXICAN STYLE CHICKEN STEW, 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 a uniform mixture of whole muscle diced 

chicken, diced tomatoes, corn kernels, onion pieces, and green chili pieces in a tomato based 

sauce flavored with Mexican style seasonings. The finished product shall be free from

foreign materials.

(2) Chicken. The chicken shall be whole muscle chicken meat dices typically 

produced by a 3/4 machine setting. The whole muscle chicken meat shall be from natural 

proportions and shall be derived from unground whole muscle chicken meat (void of any 

ground product). The end product shall not be diced from a log product. The chicken dices 

shall have a cooked chicken color and may have a golden reddish-brown color from absorbed 

sauce. The packaged product shall be practically free of skin, bone or bone fragments, 

cartilage, coarse connective tissue, tendons or ligaments, and discolored meat.
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(3) Vegetables. The vegetables shall be a mixture of 3/4 inch red tomato dices, yellow 

corn kernels, white onion pieces and green chili pieces and shall have a cooked appearance 

and cooked color.

(4) Sauce. The sauce shall be glossy, semi-translucent and moderately thick. The 

sauce shall have a medium to golden reddish-brown color with visible flecks of herbs and 

spices.

 E. Odor and flavor. The packaged food shall have an odor and flavor of cooked chicken,

cooked tomatoes, cooked corn, onion and mild green chili in a tomato based sauce with 

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

 F. Texture. 

(1) Chicken. The whole muscle chicken meat dices shall be moist and tender and 

shall have a cooked whole muscle chicken meat texture.

(2) Vegetables. The tomatoes, white onions and green chilies shall be soft and tender.

The corn shall have a slightly firm, tender texture.

(3) Sauce. The sauce shall be smooth and moderately thick.

 G. Net weight. The average net weight shall be not less than 8.0 ounces (227 grams). The 

net weight of an individual pouch shall be not less than 7.5 ounces (213 grams).

 H. Drained weight. 

(1) Chicken and vegetables. The average drained weight of the chicken dices and 

vegetables (combined) shall be not less than 2.7 ounces (77 grams). The drained weight of 

the chicken dices and vegetables (combined) in an individual pouch shall be not less than 2.0

ounces (57 grams).

(2) Chicken. The average drained weight of the chicken dices shall be not less than 

2.0 ounces (57 grams). The drained weight of the chicken dices in an individual pouch shall 

be not less than 1.5 ounces (43 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.
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 J. Analytical requirements.

(1) Fat content. The fat content shall be not greater than 4.0 percent.

(2) Salt content. The salt content shall be not greater than 1.4 percent.

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. Diced chicken, chicken broth, water, diced tomatoes, enchilada sauce 

[water, tomato puree (water, tomato paste) modified corn starch, dried red chilies, soybean 

oil, sugar, salt, citric acid, onion powder, monosodium glutamate, spices, garlic powder, red 

pepper, hydrolyzed vegetable protein (corn, soy, and wheat), autolyzed yeast extract], diced 

onions, green chili peppers, corn kernels, modified corn starch, salt, canola oil, ground 

cayenne pepper, dried cilantro, flavor extracts (cumin, mild chili pepper, cilantro, garlic).

 B. Viscosity. The viscosity of the post-retort Mexican style chicken stew is 5.0 cm for 15 

seconds at 130°F when using a Bostwick consistometer.

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.
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(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

 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, 

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.

(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 USDA regulations

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:
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MEXICAN STYLE CHICKEN STEW

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.

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.
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 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/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/ 4/

Category Defect

Major Minor

Appearance

101 Product not a uniform mixture of whole muscle diced chicken, 

diced tomatoes, corn kernels, onion pieces, and green chili pieces in 

a tomato based sauce flavored with Mexican style seasonings. 

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

dimension.

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

ligaments, and discolored meat more than 0.2 ounces.

202 Chicken not dices or not a cooked chicken color. 5/

203 Vegetables not a mixture of red tomato dices, yellow corn kernels, 

white onion pieces and green chili pieces.

204 Vegetables not a cooked appearance or not a cooked color.

205 Sauce not glossy or not semi-translucent or not moderately thick. 

206 Sauce not a medium to golden reddish-brown color or not with 

visible flecks of herbs or spices.

Odor and flavor

103 Product does not have an odor or flavor of cooked chicken, cooked 

tomatoes, cooked corn, onion and mild green chili in a tomato 

based sauce with Mexican style seasonings.

Texture

207 Whole muscle chicken meat dices not moist or not tender or not a 

cooked whole muscle meat texture.

208 Tomatoes or white onions or green chilies not soft or not tender.
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TABLE I. Product defects 1/ 2/ 3/ 4/ - Continued

Category Defect

Major Minor

209 Corn not slightly firm or not tender.

210 Sauce not smooth or not moderately thick.

Net weight

211 Net weight of an individual pouch less than 7.5 ounces 

(213 grams). 6/

Drained weight

212 Drained weight of chicken dices and vegetables (combined) in an 

individual pouch less than 2.0 ounces (57 grams). 7/

213 Drained weight of chicken dices in an individual pouch less than 

1.5 ounces (43 grams). 8/

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/ Machine setting and the requirement for whole muscle chicken meat dices in natural 

proportions derived from unground chicken meat (void of any ground product) shall be 

verified by a Certificate of Conformance (CoC).

4/ Size requirements for tomatoes shall be verified by CoC.

5/ Golden reddish-brown color from absorbed sauce shall not be scored as a defect.

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

the lot.

7/ Sample average drained weight of chicken dices and vegetables (combined) less than 2.7

ounces (77 grams) shall be cause for rejection of the lot. 
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8/ Sample average drained weight of chicken dices less than 2.0 ounces (57 grams) 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 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. Use a U.S. Standard No. 7 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 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 chicken dices from the sieve. Place the sieve 

back on the scale and record the weight as a positive number. This value is the drained 

weight of the chicken dices. Empty the remaining contents of the sieve by turning the sieve 

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

record the weight as a positive number. This value is the combined drained weight. 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.
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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 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 or 2008.06

Salt 935.47, 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 
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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.

(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. 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. 

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

Unless otherwise specified, the issues of these documents are those active on the date of the 

solicitation or contract.

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) 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