2._8905-BS-0242091.pdf

State of California Bid Specification

Fish, Frozen

8905-BS-0242091

Attachment 2

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Document Summary Detail Type Detail Event ID/Solicitation # 0000034584/FAU25-89-85 Commodity Fish, Frozen Ticket # RITM0242091 Task # SCTASK0408965 Bid Specification 8905-BS-0242091 Specification Date April 1, 2025 Attachment: #3 Quality Assurance Procedure, 8905-BS-0242091 QA Agency Name Statewide

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Table of Contents Document Summary Table of Contents

1.0 SCOPE

2.0 APPLICABLE LAWS and INDUSTRY STANDARDS

3.0 TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS

3.1 Grading and Stamping

Table 1. Allowable Species Table 2. Fish Flesh Content Table 3. Sodium Restrictions

4.0 PRESERVATION, PACKAGING, LABELING and MARKING

5.0 ACCEPTANCE and TESTING

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1.0 SCOPE

This bid specification establishes requirements for pre-cooked, frozen, oven reheated, skinless, boneless, frozen fish including batter dipped, breaded, and un-breaded raw fillet products packed in commercially acceptable containers suitable for use by State of California Institutions.

2.0 APPLICABLE LAWS and INDUSTRY STANDARDS

2.1 All products shall comply with applicable Federal and State mandatory requirements and regulations relating to the capture, preparation, packaging, labeling, storage, distribution, and sales of the product within the commercial marketplace.

2.2 All products shall be harvested, processed, and stored in plants operating under applicable regulations of the US Department of Commerce (USDC) Seafood Inspection Program / National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) fisheries, applicable provisions of the California Health & Safety Code, Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP), or other certified food safety plan.

2.3 All products shall comply with the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) as follows:

- 21 CFR § 123, Fish and Fishery Products.

- 50 CFR § 260, Inspection and Certification of Processed Fishery Products.

- 50 CFR § 261, United States Standards for Grades of Fishery Products.

2.4 The products shall be trans-fat free in accordance with Food and Drug Administration (FDA) guidelines, limiting the amount per serving to less than 0.5 grams.

2.5 Any delivery lot covered by this specification shall consist of only one species of the genus (kind) specified.

3.0 TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS

3.1 Grading and Stamping

3.1.1 The frozen, breaded and batter dipped products shall be prepared from frozen fish fillet blocks equivalent to U.S. Grade A.

3.1.2 The fillets shall be prepared from individually quick frozen (IQF) fish fillets equivalent to U.S. Grade A.

3.1.3 Products that do not have USDC Grade standards shall be inspected for quality and condition and be certified and stamped by USDC as Packed Under Federal Inspection (PUFI).

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3.1.4 Under the terms of the State Quality Assurance Procedure # 8905-BS-0242091 QA (Attachment 3), “Inspection, Testing and Certification of Seafood”, each lot of products shall be officially inspected in accordance with the applicable USDC standards and associated documents and terminology.

3.2 Species

3.2.1 The following allowable species table is derived from The Seafood List (fda.gov) (updated February 2025) by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

3.2.2 Other whitefish may be acceptable but require approval by the State prior to the solicitation due date. All species shall be from a currently recognized sustainable fishery.

Table 1. Allowable Species.

Common Name Market Name Scientific Name Notes

European Pollock Pollock Pollachius Also known as Atlantic

Pollock.

Walleye Pollock Pollock Gadus chalcogrammus

Alaskan or Alaska Pollock Alaskan Pollock Gadus chalcogrammus Caught in Alaskan waters or the exclusive economic zone (As defined in section 3 of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act).

Sablefish Sablefish Anoplopoma fimbria Also known as Black Cod.

Pacific Cod Cod or Alaska Cod Gadus macrocephalus

Atlantic Cod Cod Gadus morhua Also known as Cod.

Haddock Haddock Melanogrammus aeglefinus Found in the North Atlantic Ocean.

Silver Hake Hake Merluccius bilinearis Found in Northwest

Atlantic.

North Pacific Hake Hake Merluccius productus Found in North Pacific.

3.3 Temperature. Frozen fish shall not exceed 0°F at any times through final delivery.

https://www.cfsanappsexternal.fda.gov/scripts/fdcc/index.cfm?set=SeafoodList

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3.4 Weight, Oven Ready. The product must meet the declared net weight. When frozen weight exceeds thawed weight by more than 5%, net weight will be based on thawed weight.

3.5 Condition. No refrozen (finished) products are acceptable as frozen.

3.6 Composition, Pre-Cooked Breaded or Batter-Dipped products. The minimum percent by weight of fish flesh is described in Table 2.

Table 2. Fish Flesh Content.

Product Fish Flesh

Breaded Fish Sticks/Nuggets 60% minimum

Breaded Fish Portion 65% minimum

Batter–Dipped Products 40% minimum

3.7 Sodium restrictions, Pre-Cooked, Breaded or Batter-Dipped Products. The maximum sodium levels shall be as indicated in Table 3.

Table 3. Sodium Restrictions.

Product Sodium Content

Breaded Fish Sticks/Nuggets 1 oz. 130 mg or less

Breaded Fish Portion 4 oz. 525 mg or less

Batter-Dipped Products 4 oz. 475 mg or less

3.8 Other requirements:

3.8.1 All fish sticks and fish portions processed from frozen fish blocks shall be uniform in size, weight, and color. They shall be clean, wholesome, not ground or comminuted, and free from defects including bloodspots, skin, and bone.

3.8.2 The final oven-heated product shall have a typical flavor and odor of the species of fish and breading. Products shall be free from rancidity, bitterness, staleness, off-flavors, and off-odors of any kind.

3.8.3 All breaded portions shall be practically free of loose breading and frost.

3.8.4 The products shall be individually frozen so the individual fish products can be easily separated by hand.

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3.8.5 The products shall have no breaks or cuts greater than one-half the width. The products shall not be mashed, physically or mechanically injured, misshaped, or mutilated to the extent that its appearance is materially affected.

3.8.6 Products shall be obtained from fish blocks made from a single species of fish flesh. The fish block shall be made from fillets or fillet pieces that are skinless.

Fish blocks shall not contain minced or comminuted fish flesh.

3.8.7 When frying is used in the pre-cooking process, vegetable oil shall be used as the frying medium. The fryer oil shall be continuously filtered.

3.8.8 The wheat flour used for the fishery products shall be enriched and conform to the U.S. Standards of Identity for Enriched Flour (21 CFR § 137.165).

3.8.9 Batter and breading shall be the type used to produce products that will be heated in ovens by institutional users. The batter/breading shall be a commercial flour-based product that may include spices, seasonings, and other ingredients as needed to produce the desired flavor, texture, and color.

3.8.10 The breaded and the batter-dipped fish sticks, nuggets and portions shall be at least 3/8 inch thick. The fish sticks shall be rectangular shaped, and their largest dimension shall be at least three times the next largest dimension.

4.0 PRESERVATION, PACKAGING, LABELING and MARKING

4.1 PRESERVATION.

4.1.1 All deliveries of frozen fish shall be made in mechanically or cryogenically refrigerated trucks. Product shall be maintained at a temperature not to exceed zero (0) degrees Fahrenheit during the entire delivery period up to the destination.

4.1.2 All products shall be manufactured, packaged, and delivered to assure a minimum of 180 (calendar) days post-delivery shelf life for each purchaser. The 180-day period shall start at the time of acceptance by each facility.

4.2 PACKAGING.

4.2.1 All packaging products defined in this solicitation shall be safe for use at California State correctional institutions (i.e., products shall not be easily used to cause harm, like plastic, glass, or metalized film).

4.2.2 Products shall be packaged in uniformly sized containers of sufficient strength and durability to properly protect the product during shipping and storage.

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4.2.3 Fish products shall be packaged in commercially acceptable moisture-vapor proof packing material of not more than 25 pounds per package.

4.2.4 The shipping carton shall have no slack space that will allow crushing or distortion from palletizing or stacking.

4.3 LABELING.

As a minimum, the exterior of each shipping case shall be labeled with the product’s name, brand name, net weight, nutrition and ingredients information, unit count, include a clearly visible final assembly date and a manufacturer’s lot/batch number. If cases contain additional cartons or boxes all information should be duplicated on each container.

4.4 MARKING.

4.4.1 Each shipping carton shall be labeled on at least one side and one end with commodity, net weight and purchase order or contract number.

4.4.2 Individual containers within the shipping carton shall be labeled with commodity and net weight.

5.0 ACCEPTANCE and TESTING

5.1 ACCEPTANCE.

At the time of delivery or inspection, the State may review the product to ensure the product meets requirements set forth in this specification.

5.2 TESTING.

In the event the product does not meet this specification or appears to be substandard, the supplier will be notified, and the State may require the product to be submitted to a qualified lab of the State’s choosing for testing. If product fails inspection or testing, the supplier shall bear the costs of the analysis.