UNSPSC 50524413: Non GMO honey oranges

The variety of non GMO mandarin oranges and tangerines known as non GMO honey oranges. This means that they are produced without the use of methods that genetically modify organisms by means that are not possible under natural conditions. Such methods include cell fusion, microencapsulation and macro-encapsulation, and recombinant DNA technology (including gene deletion, gene doubling, introducing a foreign gene, and changing the positions of genes when achieved by recombinant DNA technology).

Traditional methods of breeding, conjugation, fermentation, hybridization, in vitro fertilization, or tissue culture are considered to be non-GMO.

UNSPSC 50524413 Non GMO honey oranges is a Commodity code that does not reflect the actual scope of work state and local governments are procuring under recent opportunities tagged to this code. The recent solicitations show school districts purchasing diverse fresh produce categories—petite bananas, apples, berries, leafy greens, root vegetables, citrus fruits, melons, and specialty items—for school nutrition programs, USDA Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Programs, and farm-to-school initiatives, rather than non-GMO honey oranges specifically. School districts across Georgia, Texas, Wisconsin, and Florida are the primary issuing bodies, with opportunities ranging from single-vendor awards to cooperative purchasing arrangements serving multiple districts. The kinds of work being solicited include weekly or multiple-times-weekly deliveries of fresh produce to school sites in bulk cases with strict specifications for ripeness, temperature, shelf life, packaging, traceability, and HACCP compliance; examples include Madison Metropolitan School District's RFB 4162 for petite bananas (due July 29, 2026, estimated annual value $78,000) and Hancock County Board of Education's IFB for over 200 fresh produce line items (due June 26, 2026, contract period July 1, 2026–June 30, 2027).

Geographic activity concentrates in Georgia, with solicitations from Hancock County, Bulloch County, Liberty County, Glynn County, Muscogee County, Douglas County, Bartow County, Early County, and Savannah-Chatham County school systems, alongside significant activity in Wisconsin (Madison Metropolitan School District) and Texas (McAllen Independent School District, Austin Independent School District). The issuing bodies are exclusively school districts and school nutrition programs, many of which are leveraging cooperative purchasing vehicles such as the GEC Buying Cooperative (serving 30 districts across Georgia) to aggregate demand and reduce per-unit costs. Recent opportunities consistently emphasize Buy American provisions requiring domestic agricultural commodities or products with at least 51% domestic content, locational sourcing preferences (produce grown within 200–400 miles where cost and quality are comparable), USDA compliance including HACCP plans with 24/7 recall accessibility, and evaluation criteria weighting cost between 30–50% alongside vendor qualifications, product quality, and past performance. The code shows substantial activity but a clear mismatch between the nominal "non-GMO honey oranges" descriptor and the actual broad fresh-produce procurement happening in state and local school nutrition.