UNSPSC 50594609: Dried Non GMO ruby romaine lettuce

The variety of Non GMO lettuce known as Non GMO ruby romaine lettuce that has been dried 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 50594609 Dried Non GMO ruby romaine lettuce is a Commodity code. State and local governments solicit dried produce and commodity food items under this code primarily through school nutrition procurement, with recent opportunities spanning grocery supply contracts for K-12 districts, fresh produce and specialty vegetable purchasing for school meal programs, and food service distribution agreements supporting national school lunch requirements. Issuing bodies include large urban and suburban school districts (Fairfax County Public Schools, Bridgeport Board of Education, Savannah-Chatham County Public School System), county-level school authorities (Hancock County Board of Education in Georgia, Douglas County School System), state agencies (Georgia Department of Education), and regional cooperative purchasing vehicles serving multiple districts. School nutrition procurement dominates the activity, with contracts typically spanning one-year terms with options for renewal, emphasizing Buy American compliance (minimum 51 percent domestic agricultural content in processed products), HACCP food safety plans, Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act nutritional standards, and firm fixed pricing with no fuel surcharges permitted.

The geographic spread concentrates in Georgia, Connecticut, Florida, Mississippi, Texas, and Virginia, with Georgia showing the densest recent activity across multiple school districts and state-level solicitations. Representative recent opportunities include the Bridgeport Board of Education's BNB052266 grocery items procurement (IFB, due June 30, 2026) covering over 1,100 line items with Buy American requirements and blind laboratory testing of samples; Hancock County Board of Education's fresh produce IFB (due June 26, 2026) encompassing 200-plus fresh produce line items across apple varieties, berries, cruciferous vegetables, and leafy greens delivered to three school locations; the Bulloch County Board of Education School Food Authority's IFB #043025 (due May 4, 2026) for comprehensive food products across multiple categories with contract commencement July 1, 2026; and the Douglas County School System's RFP SN 26-004 through the GEC Buying Cooperative (due March 4, 2026) for fresh produce and eggs serving 30 school districts with estimated spending of $4.4 million for Area One and $1.1 million for Area Two. Contract values range from single-district procurements under $5 million annually to multi-district cooperative purchasing exceeding $9 million for food supply and distribution.