UNSPSC 50542518: Frozen non GMO ruby bing cherries

The variety of non GMO cherries known as non GMO ruby bing cherries that have been frozen for preservation. 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 50542518 Frozen non GMO ruby bing cherries is a Commodity code. State and local governments procure frozen cherries as line items within much broader school food service contracts that span hundreds of grocery and frozen product categories supporting the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program. The code shows limited standalone recent activity; instead, frozen cherries appear as single line items nested in comprehensive food procurement RFPs and IFBs issued by school districts, regional purchasing cooperatives, and city procurement offices. The buying bodies are predominantly school districts and boards of education—Bridgeport Board of Education, Hancock County Board of Education, Early County Board of Education, Rockwood R-VI School District, Savannah-Chatham County Public School System, and Douglas County School System—alongside state-level food procurement (Georgia) and city departments supporting school nutrition. Vendors must meet stringent compliance including USDA Buy American provisions (minimum 51 percent domestic agricultural content), HACCP certification with 24/7 recall accessibility, food safety documentation, liability insurance at $1 million per occurrence minimum, E-Verify authorization where required, and nutritional labeling per Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act standards. Deliveries occur Monday through Friday during morning warehouse or direct school-site windows, typically 6:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., with firm pricing throughout the contract year and no separate fuel surcharges permitted.

Geographic activity concentrates in Georgia and the Southeast, with recent solicitations from Hancock County (Sparta, Georgia), Douglas County (Douglasville, Georgia), Decatur (Georgia), Savannah-Chatham County (Savannah, Georgia), and Early County (Georgia), alongside activity in Connecticut (Bridgeport) and Missouri (Rockwood R-VI in St. Louis County). The Douglas County School System's RFP SN 26-004 for fresh produce and eggs, posted February 4, 2026, with proposals due March 4, 2026, and estimated annual spending of $4.4 million for Area One and $1.1 million for Area Two across 30 school districts, represents the largest recent cooperative purchasing vehicle. Bridgeport Board of Education's grocery items solicitation BNB052266, due June 30, 2026, encompasses over 1,100 line items including frozen products with firm pricing through June 30, 2027 and delivery to central warehouse and school sites. Hancock County Board of Education's fresh produce IFB, due June 26, 2026, for the 2026-27 school year covers over 200 produce items with three delivery locations. Frozen cherries as a standalone commodity within these broader scopes face competition from volume commodity suppliers and established school food distributors, with award often made to single or multiple vendors on a line-item basis determined by lowest responsive bid and product quality assessment.