UNSPSC 50121541: Canned fish

Canned or tinned fish are food fish which have been processed, sealed in an airtight container such as a sealed tin can, and subjected to heat. Canning is a method of preserving food. WFP food convention

UNSPSC 50121541 Canned fish (Commodity) represents a narrow but active procurement line in state and local government supply chains, primarily driven by school nutrition programs and correctional facilities. What state and local governments actually buy under this code are shelf-stable canned seafood products—predominantly light-meat tuna in water and chunk light tuna—for bulk food service delivery to schools, detention facilities, and institutional dining operations. The products are specified to USDA Commercial Item Description standards, typically requiring dolphin-safe certification, six-month minimum shelf life at delivery, compliance with FDA and HACCP regulations, and nutritional labeling. Issuing bodies span school district nutrition programs (Tattnall County Board of Education, Effingham County Board of Education, Richmond County Board of Education in Georgia, and New Haven Public Schools in Connecticut), state departments of corrections (Oregon Department of Corrections), and state-level purchasing consortiums serving multiple customer classes (State of Utah Division of Purchasing, State of Georgia, New Jersey Department of the Treasury). The code sees modest geographic concentration in Georgia, with secondary activity in the Pacific Northwest, Utah, New Jersey, and Connecticut.

Representative recent opportunities include the Oregon Department of Corrections ITB for 2,880 cases of light-meat tuna in water (response due September 3, 2026), which applied 5% Oregon-resident and 5% Oregon-fabricated-or-processed preferences and awarded historically at $35.78 per case; the New Jersey Department of the Treasury bid for chunk light tuna (response due August 26, 2026) requiring standard state certifications including Iran investment and OFAC compliance; the State of Utah Division of Purchasing RFP for bulk canned foods including seafood (response due June 4, 2026), which supported multiple awards, required 51 percent domestic agricultural content, and reported historical spending of $5.03 million across eligible state and local users from 2020–2025; and the Texas Department of Criminal Justice IFB for cafeteria food products including pollock fish portions (response due May 4, 2026, extended via addendum), covering six distribution points across Texas with single-award line-item basis. School nutrition programs typically bid canned fish as one line item within comprehensive grocery or commodity food solicitations issued as RFQs or IFBs with annual or multi-year terms, while state purchasing programs consolidate canned fish demand across multiple customer classes under cooperative-purchasing frameworks. No incumbent vendor names appear consistently across jurisdictions, and set-asides vary by jurisdiction—Oregon applies state-resident preferences, Connecticut mandates MBE/WBE participation goals, while Utah and other state programs place no designated set-asides.