RiceProductsRP6October2019.pdf

Agricultural Marketing Service Commodity Procurement Program P.O. Box 419205, Mailstop 8718 Kansas City, MO 64141-6205

USDA COMMODITY REQUIREMENTS

RP6

RICE PRODUCTS

FOR USE IN DOMESTIC PROGRAMS

Effective Date: October 2019

USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

USDA COMMODITY REQUIREMENTS

RP6

RICE PRODUCTS

FOR USE IN DOMESTIC PROGRAMS

Table of Contents

Part 1 COMMODITY SPECIFICATIONS

Section 1.1 COMMODITIES

Section 1.2 FUMIGATION

Section 1.3 INSPECTION

Part 2 CONTAINER AND PACKAGING REQUIREMENTS

Section 2.1 COMMERCIAL PACKAGING AND LABELING

RP 6 Page 1 of 4

Part 1 COMMODITY SPECIFICATIONS

Section 1.1 COMMODITIES A. Product Requirements

Rice products delivered shall meet the specifications of the class and grade offered as defined in the “United States Standards for Milled Rice,” in effect on the date the solicitation is issued. The standards are available at:

https://www.ams.usda.gov/grades-standards/rice-pulses. Rice products shall be a US No. 2 or better well milled rice, unless so specified.

(1) Rice products, excluding Brown rice products, produced and delivered shall be enriched.

(2) Rice products of special grades “parboiled light” or “parboiled” which meets class and grade specifications of U.S. No. 1 will only be acceptable for those items specifying “parboiled.” “Parboiled light” or “parboiled” shall not be substitutable for other classes of rice.

(3) Enriched rice products (including “parboiled light” or “parboiled”) shall comply with the standards for enriched rice established by the FDA, in the Code of Federal Regulations, Title 21, Chapter 1, Part 137, Subpart B, Section 137.350, which is available at:

https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfCFR/CFRSearch.cf m, except that the optional enrichment ingredients will not be included.

(4) Rice coated with talc and/or glucose, is not acceptable and will be rejected if delivered. No specialty, including but not limited to aromatic rice, will be acceptable unless specified in the solicitation.

B. Brown Rice shall be U.S. No. 1 long grain, medium grain, or short grain brown rice for processing, as defined in the “United States Standards for Brown Rice for Processing,” which is available at https://www.ams.usda.gov/grades-standards/rice-pulses, in effect on the date the solicitation is issued. Total broken kernels shall not exceed 4 percent.

C. Parboiled brown rice shall be U.S. No. 1 long grain brown rice or U.S. No. 1 medium grain brown rice. Total broken kernels shall not exceed 4 percent.

D. All rice products for delivery to destinations in the State of Hawaii shall be U.S.

No. 1 Medium Grain only.

E. The Government will accept delivery of rice products grading better than the specified contract grade, but no adjustment in contract price will be made for rice products better than the contract grade.

F. Product shall not be manufactured more than 30 days prior to shipping.

Manufactured date is defined as the calendar date on which the rice is milled.

Contractors are responsible for maintaining manufacturing information.

https://www.ams.usda.gov/grades-standards/rice-pulses https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfCFR/CFRSearch.cfm

RP 6 Page 2 of 4

Section 1.2 FUMIGATION A. Rice products shall be fumigated in a quantity and manner which will effect a kill in all stages of weevil or other insect infestation. Infestation includes, but is not limited to, visual signs of insect eggs, insect larva, and adult insects. All fumigant must be applied according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) label. The vendor’s Fumigation Management Plan shall be made available to AMS Commodity Procurement Programs upon request.

B. At time of checkloading, the contractor shall submit documentation from a licensed fumigator certifying that the rice products were fumigated in accordance with this requirement. The Fumigation Certificate shall cite the fumigant, actual date the rice was fumigated and the fumigator’s license number. Failure to provide documentation at checkloading will result in product non-conformance.

Section 1.3 INSPECTION

A. Inspection of the product shall be performed by FGIS. Procedures and fee schedule for this service may be obtained at https://www.ams.usda.gov/grades-standards/rice-pulses (See Service Provider Information).

The applicant is responsible for providing all applicable contract documents and specifications to FGIS. The quality, weight, and packaging of the product shall be evidenced by commodity inspection certificates issued by FGIS. The FGIS certificate must cite the Contract/WBSCM Purchase Order (PO), PO Item Number, Sales Order (SO) Number and SO Item Number or Purchase Requisition (PR) and PR Item Number. Contractors are required to notify the Government immediately of lots that fail to meet contract requirements.

B. Enrichment The FGIS certificate will also cite whether or not the rice is enriched. Testing of the product for enrichment, if applicable to the commodity, shall be performed by FGIS. FGIS shall verify the presence of enrichment for each inspected lot.

Enrichment results will be shown in the factor section of the certificate.

Applicant statements in regard to enrichment will not be accepted by FGIS.

C. Citations The FGIS certificate must cite the Contract/WBSCM Purchase Order (PO), PO Item Number, Sales Order (SO) Number and SO Item Number or Purchase Requisition (PR) and PR Item Number. Contractors are required to notify the Government immediately of lots that fail to meet contract requirements.

D. Shipping Contractors shall not ship the product unless informed by FGIS that the containers and markings meet the Acceptable Quality Level (AQL) of the “U.S.

Standards for Condition of Food Containers,” which are available at:

RP 6 Page 3 of 4 http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_04/7cfr42_04.html. Notice by FGIS that a designated lot scheduled for shipment does not meet the AQL will constitute rejection to the contractor of such lot. Except with respect to shipments that do not meet the AQL standards, the contractor may ship the product prior to receipt of the commodity testing and analysis results (when required) in which event the contractor assumes all risks and liabilities that arise with respect to the failure of the shipped product to meet contract specifications.

E. If the product fails to meet contract specifications on one or more factors on the first inspection, the contractor may arrange with FGIS subsequent inspections of the commodity. The inspections may be conducted at origin or a subsequent point of delivery if the provisions of Title 7 CFR 68.44 through 68.63 issued under the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946, as amended, with respect to retest, appeal, and new inspections can be met. When subsequent inspections of the product are made, the results of the last inspection will be used as the basis for payment under the contract.

F. Checkloading

All rice shall undergo checkloading. Checkloading shall be performed by FGIS or their authorized designee(s). FGIS checkloading shall include the process of performing a stowage examination on a carrier, computing the number of filled rice containers loaded aboard the carrier, observing the condition of the rice containers loaded aboard the carrier, witnessing the sealing the carrier, if practicable, and certifying the results.

Contractors have the option of requesting that FGIS include the manufacturing date in the “Applicant states” portion of the Grading certificate.

FGIS checkloading, including witnessing sealing the carrier, does not release the contractor from, or take the place of the seal requirements, cited in the Master Solicitation for Commodity Procurements, Seals on Transportation Conveyances.

Part 2 CONTAINER AND PACKAGING REQUIREMENTS

Section 2.1 COMMERCIAL PACKAGING AND LABELING A. Contractors shall supply commercial brand products only and shall certify at the time of submission of an offer that the commercial product being delivered has a history of successful distribution and use in domestic commercial channels and is sold on the commercial market with an established level of consumer acceptance.

B. Container and packaging requirements are those used in the current commercial shipping practices and shall comply with:

(1) At contractor’s option, a statement such as “Not for Retail Sale” may be printed on the principal display panel of the food label.

(2) The manufacturer’s lot code/lot identification number shall be shown on the commercial bill of lading.

http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_04/7cfr42_04.html

RP 6 Page 4 of 4

(3) Shipping containers shall be marked to show the maximum safe stacking height. It is the responsibility of the contractor in cooperation with the shipping container manufacturers to determine the safe stacking height.

(4) For identification upon receipt at delivery warehouses, all commercial-labeled product shipping documents shall specify “FOR USDA FOOD

DISTRIBUTION PROGRAMS.”

(5) All primary packaging labels must include a minimum of one color other than black or white. Black ink only labels will not be accepted. Labels shall cite any enrichment ingredients.

C. Container, packaging and unitization requirements shall comply with Section 4A52.211-3, 4A52.211-4, and 4A52.211-6 in the Master Solicitation for Commodity Procurement-Domestic Programs which is available at https://www.ams.usda.gov/sites/default/files/media/MSCP.pdf.

https://www.ams.usda.gov/sites/default/files/media/MSCP.pdf