UNSPSC 50120000: Seafood

Spans any form of sea life regarded as food by humans. Seafood prominently includes fish and shellfish. Shellfish include various species of molluscs, crustaceans, and echinoderms. Historically, seafood also includes sea mammals such as whales and dolphins, although this happens to a lesser extent in modern times. In North America, although not generally in the United Kingdom, the term "seafood" is extended to fresh water organisms eaten by humans, so all edible aquatic life may be referred to as seafood.

UNSPSC 50120000 Seafood, a Family code, encompasses the supply of fresh, frozen, and processed seafood products to state and local institutions, primarily school nutrition programs across multiple districts and regions. State and local governments procure seafood under this code chiefly as a line item within broader school lunch and breakfast program food solicitations, though specialized seafood-focused initiatives have emerged in Massachusetts targeting local and regionally sourced products for K-12 populations. Recent opportunities show school districts (Tattnall County Board of Education in Georgia, Hancock County Board of Education, Early County Board of Education, and Conejo Valley Unified School District in California) issuing IFBs and RFPs for food supplies that include seafood among dozens of protein categories; Massachusetts regional planning agencies and MAPC have launched dedicated seafood procurement efforts supporting farm-to-school initiatives. Issuing bodies span individual school districts, county school boards, state-level food procurement (Georgia and Massachusetts), and multi-district cooperative purchasing vehicles such as the GEC Buying Cooperative and MAPC, reflecting fragmentation across small and mid-sized public school systems rather than concentration in a single buyer.

Recent activity concentrates in Georgia and Massachusetts. Georgia school districts (Tattnall County, Hancock County, Early County, Dougherty County, Houston County, and Lamar County) have posted multiple food IFBs and ITBs between March and July 2026 with response dates ranging from April through August, treating seafood as one commodity line within comprehensive food procurement. Massachusetts has issued two solicitations specifically targeting local seafood: MAPC's RFP for local seafood products suitable for K-12 populations (posted June 8, 2026, proposals due June 30, 2026) sought harvesters, producers, distributors, and processors supplying seafood landed in New England states and New York; a preceding RFI (posted May 27, 2026, due May 29, 2026) assessed supply capacity and traceability among local seafood providers. California's Conejo Valley Unified School District issued RFP 2026-04 for broadline products distribution (posted April 23, 2026, due May 14, 2026) covering approximately 399 food line items including processed seafood for roughly two million meals annually. These solicitations emphasize USDA Child Nutrition compliance, domestic sourcing under Buy American provisions, and in Massachusetts, explicit local and regionally sourced product preferences.