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SECTION C

C-1 ITEM DESCRIPTION

PCR-H-005, HASH, CORNED BEEF, PACKAGED IN A POLYMERIC TRAY, 

SHELF STABLE

Each component is consumed by combat personnel under worldwide environmental extremes 

as part of an operational ration, and is a source of nutritional intake. 

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 80oF.

 D. Appearance.

(1) General. The finished product shall be a mixture of coarsely ground or shaved 

cured beef, potato dices, and onion pieces. The packaged food shall be free from foreign 

materials. 

(2) Cured beef. The cured beef shall be sizes typically produced by a 1/2 inch grinder 

plate or by chopping down to chunks/strips/pads and then cut through a 1/4 inch machine

setting, and shall be practically free of bone or bone fragment, cartilage, coarse connective 

tissue, tendons or ligaments, and glandular material. The cured beef shall be light to medium 

red color.

(3) Potatoes. The cooked potatoes shall be sizes typically produced by a 3/8 inch 

dicer setting. The potatoes shall be intact and shall be off white color. 

 
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 E. Odor and flavor. 

(1) General. The packaged food shall have an odor and flavor of corned beef hash 

made from cured beef, potatoes, and onions, and seasoned with herbs and spices. The 

packaged food shall be free from foreign odors and flavors. 

 F. Texture. 

(1) Cured beef. The cured beef shall be moist and tender. 

(2) Potatoes. The potatoes shall be slightly soft to slightly firm.

 G. Weight.

(1) Net weight. The average net weight shall be not less than 88 ounces. No 

individual polymeric tray shall contain less than 86 ounces.

(2) Free liquid weight. The free liquid weight in an individual polymeric tray shall be 

not more than 2.7 ounces. 

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

than the approved product standard in palatability and overall appearance.

 I. Nutrient content.

(1) Protein content. The protein content shall be not less than 10.0 percent.

(2) Fat content. The fat content shall be not greater than 5.5 percent.

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

than 1.5 percent.
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C-3 MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION

THE FOLLOWING FORMULA IS PROVIDED FOR INFORMATION ONLY TO 

PROVIDE THE BENEFIT OF PAST GOVERNMENT EXPERIENCE. THIS IS NOT A 

MANDATORY CONTRACT REQUIREMENT.

 A. Ingredients/formulation. Ingredients and formulation percentages may be as follows: 

Ingredients Percent by weight

Beef, cured, blanched 1/ 43.650 

Potatoes, fresh 2/ 45.000

Water 1/ 6.867

Potatoes, crushed, dehydrated 1.650

Salt 3/ 1.240

Onions, dehydrated, chopped 0.720

Sugar, white, granulated 0.600

Garlic powder 0.170

Pepper, black, ground 0.070 

Bay leaves, ground 0.025

Clove, ground 0.008

1/ The beef amount is based on a blanching yield of approximately 70 percent. The beef and 

water percentages may be adjusted, as necessary, to compensate for blanching yields from 

65.0 percent to 69.0 percent.

2/ When dehydrofrozen potatoes are used, the formulation may be 20.489 percent by weight 

of potatoes and 24.511 percent by weight of water.

3/ The total amount of salt in the formula may be adjusted, as necessary, to produce a 

product that complies 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-32004, Packaging of 

Food in Polymeric Trays. Verification testing and inspection of trays, lids and sleeves shall 
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be in accordance with Section 4 of MIL-PRF-32004 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. One side of each polymeric tray 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 or ingredients. To avoid erroneous marking of 

trays, the product name, lot number and filling equipment number shall be applied prior to 

processing. All other tray marking may be applied before or after processing. If these 

markings are applied along the tray body side (see figure 1 of MIL-PRF-32004), or if applied 

along the tray body end, are not readily legible in low light conditions, a small, easily legible 

label detailing product name and number of portions shall be applied along one tray body 

end, but not over any existing tray markings. 1/ 

 (1) Tray body markings shall include:

 Product name. Commonly used abbreviations may be used when authorized by the

 inspection agency.

 Tray code. Tray code includes: 2/ 

 Lot number 

 Filling equipment identification number 

 Retort identification number 

 Retort cook number 

 Official establishment number

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 or ingredients, 

provided that the required markings are applied onto the tray body after processing.

2/ Shall be code marked as follows: 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, 13 June 2003 would be coded as 3164). 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.
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 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 or ingredients, shall be used. As an alternate labeling method, a pre-printed selfadhering 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/USDA 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.

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: 

CORNED BEEF HASH
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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, 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 inside of each box shall be 

provided with a box liner. The height of the box liner shall be equal to the full inside depth 

of the box (+ 0 inch, - 1/8 inch). Flute direction of the box liner shall be vertical. The box 

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

Sealing, and Reinforcing Fiberboard Shipping Containers.

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 DPSC 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. 
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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 Performance-based Contract 

Requirements 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.

(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 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. Free liquid shall be determined prior to other product 

examination. 

TABLE I. Product defects 1/ 2/ 3/

Category Defect

Major Minor

Appearance

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

dimension.

201 Cured beef and potato dices are not evenly distributed.

202 Cured beef is not light to medium red color.
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TABLE I. Product defects 1/ 2/ 3/ cont’d

Category Defect

Major Minor

203 Potatoes are not intact dices or not off white color.

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

ligaments, and glandular material is more than 2.0 ounces.

Odor and flavor

102 The packaged food does not have an odor or flavor of corned beef 

hash made from cured beef, potatoes, and onions, and seasoned with 

herbs and spices.

Texture

205 Cured beef is not moist or not tender.

206 Potatoes are not slightly soft to slightly firm. 

Weight

207 The net weight of an individual polymeric tray is less than 86 

ounces. 4/

Free liquid

103 The free liquid in an individual polymeric tray is more than 2.7 

ounces. 

1/ The presence of any foreign material such as but not limited to, dirt, insect parts, hair, 

wood, glass, metal, or mold or the presence of 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/ Grinder plate or machine cut size requirement for cured beef and dicer size requirement 

for potatoes shall be verified by the producer’s certificate of conformance. 
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4/ Sample average net weight less than 88 ounces shall be cause for rejection of the lot.

C. 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 tray shall be determined by 

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

Results shall be reported to the nearest 1 ounce. 

(4) Free liquid weight. The weight of free liquid in each tray shall be determined by 

the following procedure. The tray shall be opened at one corner sufficiently to allow the free 

liquid to drain. The tray shall be elevated on end so that any liquid will flow out of the open 

corner into a tared container. Collect the liquid. Drain product for 1 minute before 

determining the free liquid weight by subtracting the container tare weight from the gross 

weight. The free liquid shall be reported to the nearest 0.5 ounce. 

(5) Nutrient content. The sample to be analyzed shall be a composite of three filled 

and sealed polymeric trays which have been selected at random from the lot. The 

composited sample shall be prepared (see NOTE) and analyzed for protein content, fat 

content, and salt content in accordance with the following methods of the Official Methods 

of Analysis of AOAC International:

Test Method Number

Protein 988.05 or 992.15

Fat 922.06 or 2008.06

Salt 935.47 or 971.27

Test results shall be reported to the nearest 0.1 percent. Any nonconforming results shall be 

cause for rejection of the lot.

NOTE: The USDA will use AOAC method 983.18 for preparation of the sample.
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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-32004, Packaging of 

Food in Polymeric Trays. 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. 

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
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Residual gas Containers 1 container S-1

Closure seal Containers 1 container S-1

Characteristic Lot size expressed in Sample 

unit

Inspection 

level

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-32004 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. The inspection level shall be I and the acceptable quality 

level (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.

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. 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.
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TABLE IV. Shipping container defects

Category Defect

Major Minor

101 National stock number, item description, contract number, name 

and address of producer, or date of pack missing, incorrect, or 

illegible.

102 Container not closed properly. 

103 Interior packing not as specified.

201 Other required markings missing, incorrect, or illegible.

202 Arrangement or number of trays not as specified.

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 and shall be cause for 

rejection of the lot.

SECTION J REFERENCE DOCUMENTS

DPSC/DSCP FORMS

DPSC FORM 3556 Marking Instructions for Shipping Cases, Sacks and

Palletized/Containerized Loads of Perishable and 

Semiperishable Subsistence

DSCP FORM 3507 Loads, Unit: Preparation of Semiperishable Subsistence 

Items

MILITARY SPECIFICATIONS

MIL-PRF-32004 Packaging of Food in Polymeric Trays

GOVERNMENT PUBLICATIONS

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

(21 CFR Parts 1-199)
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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

AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR TESTING AND MATERIALS (ASTM)

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

Fiberboard Shipping Containers

D 5118 Standard Practice for Fabrication of Fiberboard Shipping Boxes 

AOAC INTERNATIONAL

Official Methods of Analysis of the AOAC International (OMA)