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SECTION C

This document covers non-carbohydrate sugar substitutes packaged in paper 

envelopes/packets for use by the Department of Defense as a component of operational 

rations.

C-1 ITEM DESCRIPTION

PACKAGING REQUIREMENTS AND QUALITY ASSURANCE PROVISIONS FOR 

CID A-A-20178B, SUGAR SUBSTITUTES, NON-CARBOHYDRATE

Type, style and package.

Type IV - Sucralose (1,6-dichloro-1,6-dideoxy-β-D-fructofuranosyl-4-chloro-4-

deoxy-α-D-galactopyranoside) (C12H19Cl3O8) (21CFR § 172.831)

Style A - Granular

Package 1 - Envelopes/packets

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 Packaging Requirements and Quality Assurance Provisions

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 noncomparable 

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. Shelf life. The packaged product shall meet the minimum shelf life requirement of 

36 months at 80oF.

 C. Appearance. The finished product shall be a white to off-white granular powder and 

shall be free from foreign materials.

 D. Odor and flavor. The packaged food shall be practically odorless and shall have a very 

sweet flavor. The packaged product shall be free from foreign odors and flavors. 
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 E. Texture. The sucralose shall be free flowing and free from lumps.

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

the approved product standard in palatability and overall appearance.

 G. Net weight. The net weight of one envelope/packet of sucralose product shall be not less 

than 1.0 gram.

 

SECTION D

D-1 PACKAGING

 A. Packaging. Not less than 1.0 gram of sucralose shall be filled into a paper

envelope/packet having maximum outside dimensions of 2-3/4 inches long by 1-1/2 inches 

wide. All four edges of the envelope/packet shall be heat-sealed or on three edges with the 

fourth edge being formed by folding the material prior to filling. The seals shall be not less 

than 1/8 inch wide. The sealed envelope/packet shall exhibit no leakage or seal separation.

There shall be no crushed, misshapen or unclean envelopes/packets.

D-2 LABELING

 A. Labeling. Labeling of product shall be in accordance with good commercial practice. 

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-L of ASTM D5118/D5118M, Standard 

Practice for Fabrication of Fiberboard Shipping Boxes. The fiberboard shall conform to type 

CF, class D, variety SW, burst grade 200 or ECT grade 32 of ASTM D4727/D4727M, 

Standard Specification for Corrugated and Solid Fiberboard Sheet Stock (Container Grade) 

and Cut Shapes. Each box shall be closed in accordance with ASTM D1974/D1974M, 

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 DLA

Troop Support 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 

appearance, odor, flavor, and texture. Any failure to conform to the performance 

requirements or any appearance or palatability failure shall be cause for rejection of the lot. 

(2) Periodic review evaluation. 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
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Natick, MA 01760-5056

One lot shall be randomly selected during each calendar month of production or as otherwise 

specified in the contract. Six (6) sample units shall be randomly selected from that one 

production lot. The six (6) sample units shall be shipped to Natick within five (5) working 

days from the end of the production month from which they are randomly selected and upon 

completion of all USDA inspection requirements. The sample units will be evaluated for 

overall quality against the current first article or product demonstration model.

(3) Conformance inspection. Conformance inspection shall include the 

examinations/tests and 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 A-A-20178C and Section C of this Packaging 

Requirements and Quality Assurance Provisions document utilizing the double sampling 

plans indicated in ANSI/ASQ Z1.4. The lot size shall be expressed in envelopes/packets. The 

sample unit shall be the contents of one envelope/packet. 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.

TABLE I. Product defects 1/ 2/

Category Defect

Major Minor

General

101 Product not type or not style or not package as specified.

Appearance

102 Product not a white to off-white granular powder.

Odor and flavor

103 Sucralose not practically odorless or does not have a very sweet 

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

Category Defect

Major Minor

Texture

201 Sucralose not free flowing.

202 Presence of lumps. 3/ 

Net weight 

203 Net weight of an individual envelope/packet less than 1.0 gram.

1/ Presence of any foreign material 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/ Lumps that do not fall apart under light pressure between the fingers shall be scored as a 

defect.

 B. Methods of Inspection.

(1) 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 quality scale 

to be considered acceptable. 

(2) Net weight. The net weight of the filled and sealed envelope/packet shall be 

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

envelope/packet. Results shall be reported to the nearest 0.1 gram.

E-6 QUALITY ASSURANCE PROVISIONS (PACKAGING AND PACKING 

MATERIALS)
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 A. Packaging and labeling.

(1) Envelope/packet material certification. Conformance of the paper envelope/packet

to the requirements shall be determined by a Certificate of Conformance (CoC).

(2) Filled and sealed envelope/packet examination. The filled and sealed 

envelopes/packets shall be examined for the defects listed in table II. The sample size shall 

be expressed in envelopes/packets. The sample unit shall be one envelope/packet. The 

inspection level shall be I and the AQL, expressed in terms of defects per hundred units, shall 

be 0.65 for major defects and 2.5 for minor defects.

TABLE II. Filled and sealed envelope/packet defects 1/

Category Defect

Major Minor

101 Tear or hole or open seal.

201 Envelope/packet dimensions not as specified.

102 Leakage. 

103 Seal separation. 

104 Unclean envelope/packet. 

105 Envelope/packet has foreign odor. 

106 Not packaged as specified.

107 Envelope/packet not sealed with minimum 1/8 inch wide seals. 

202 Label missing or incorrect or illegible. 

203 Envelope/packet crushed or misshapen. 

1/ Any evidence of rodent or insect infestation shall be cause for rejection of the lot.

 B. Packing.

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

containers shall be examined for the defects listed in table III. The lot size shall be expressed 
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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 III. 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 applicable version of these documents is that which is active 

on the date of the solicitation or contract.

DLA Troop Support Forms

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

and Semiperishable Subsistence

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

D1974/D1974M Standard Practice for Methods of Closing, Sealing, and 

Reinforcing Fiberboard Boxes

D4727/D4727M Standard Specification for Corrugated and Solid 

Fiberboard Sheet Stock (Container Grade) and Cut Shapes

D5118/D5118M Standard Practice for Fabrication of Fiberboard Shipping 

Boxes