2._8940-BS-0235437.pdf

State of California Bid Specification

Dietary Meals, Frozen

8940-BS-0235437

Attachment 2

Silahua, F. Page 1 of 9 Apr. 2, 2025

Document Summary Detail Type Detail Event ID/Solicitation # 0000034468/FAU25-89-99 Commodity Frozen Dietary Meals Ticket # RITM0235437 Task # SCTASK0400406 Bid Specification 8940-BS-0235437 Specification Date April 2, 2025 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 GENERAL PRODUCT REQUIREMENTS

3.2 VARIETY of MEALS

Table 1 Breakdown of the 49 Meals

3.3 NUTRITIONAL VALUES

Table 2 Average Nutritional Values for All Meals

3.4 PORTIONS

4.0 PRESERVATION, PACKAGING, LABELING and MARKING

4.1 PRESERVATION

4.2 PACKAGING

4.3 LABELING

4.4 MARKING

5.0 ACCEPTANCE and TESTING

5.1 ACCEPTANCE

5.2 TESTING

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1.0 SCOPE

This bid specification establishes requirements for a combination of 49 heart-healthy, gluten-free, and plant-based frozen dietary meals packed in commercially acceptable containers suitable for use by State of California Institutions. The State uses these meals in addition to other food and beverages to establish a three-week therapeutic diet menu that meets regulatory requirements.

2.0 APPLICABLE LAWS and INDUSTRY STANDARDS

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

2.2 The product shall be prepared in accordance with the 21 CFR §110, Current Good Manufacturing Practice in Manufacturing, Packing, or Holding Human Food.

2.3 The products shall comply with the mandatory meat and poultry products inspection and voluntary inspection and certification, 9 CFR §300-592 Animals and Animal Products as applicable.

2.4 The product shall comply with the provisions of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and regulations promulgated thereunder.

2.5 Products shall be produced, processed, and package by facilities operating under current licenses in good standing and in compliance with USDA or CDFA food safety requirements.

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

3.0 TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS

3.1 GENERAL PRODUCT REQUIREMENTS

3.1.1 Gluten-free products shall not contain wheat, rye, barley, or crossbreeds of these grains and/or have less than 20 ppm (parts per million). That is the lowest level that can be consistently detected in foods using valid scientific analytical tools.

3.1.2 Gluten-free certification is required from an approved organization to perform the activity. Refer to the solicitation for the current list of approved certification organizations.

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3.1.3 Vegetarian meals shall be clearly named and labeled as vegetarian. Vegetarian meals that use animal names or terminology shall also be labeled indicating the meal contains meat alternates (imitation meat/poultry).

3.1.4 Meals not named as vegetarian or plant-based shall include real beef or poultry (chicken/turkey).

3.1.5 Plant-based meals shall not contain animal products or byproducts, including meat, poultry, fish (plant-based fish alternates are allowed), dairy, or eggs and shall be clearly named and labeled plant-based meals.

3.1.6 For the purposes of this solicitation, cooked dry beans will be considered a starch.

3.1.7 For the purposes of this solicitation, protein entrées, shall be limited to items described in section 3.2.15.

3.1.8 For the purposes of this solicitation the word “meat” is used to refer to the beef or poultry protein entrée, the words “meat alternate” are used to refer to the vegetarian or plant-based protein entrée.

3.1.9 Meals containing allergen products shall be clearly identified and the allergen name or names disclosed.

3.1.10 The meals shall be prepared from clean, sound ingredients.

3.1.11 The meals shall not have any specific defect or combination of defects which materially affects the appearance, edibility, storage, or shipping quality of the product.

3.1.12 The meals shall have an appearance, flavor, odor and color typical of the type and style. The product shall be free from objectionable or foreign flavors or odor such as sour, musty, rancid, scorched, etc.

3.1.13 Meals shall not contain fish, pork, lard, alcohol, caffeine, bones or fruit pits and shall be free from foreign material.

3.1.14 Each of the offered items shall be remain available throughout the term of the contract.

3.2 VARIETY of MEALS

3.2.1 Bidders shall offer and submit six sets of meals of the variety types described in Table 1 below, for a total of 49 meals. Each meal shall consist of an entrée and side dishes.

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3.2.2 Table 1 Breakdown of the 49 Meals

Variety Type Meal Type Meal Count Heart-healthy (HH) Breakfast 7 Heart-healthy (HH) Lunch/Dinner 14 Gluten-free (GF) Breakfast 7 Gluten-free (GF) Lunch/Dinner 7 Plant-based (PB) Breakfast 7 Plant-based (PB) Lunch/Dinner 7

Blank Total 49

3.2.3 For heart-healthy lunch/dinner meals, the 14 meals shall include:

3.2.3.1 Six different poultry meals

3.2.3.2 Five different beef meals

3.2.3.3 Three different vegetarian meals

3.2.4 For gluten-free lunch/dinner meals, the 7 meals shall include:

3.2.4.1 Three different poultry meals

3.2.4.2 Three different beef meals

3.2.4.3 One vegetarian meal

3.2.5 For plant-based lunch/dinner meals, the 7 meals shall include:

3.2.5.1 Four different plant-based beef alternate meals

3.2.5.2 Three different plant-based poultry alternate meals

3.2.6 For heart healthy breakfasts meals, the 7 meals shall include:

3.2.6.1 One French toast meal without egg, with meat

3.2.6.2 Two different pancake meals without egg, with meat

3.2.6.3 Four different egg meals

3.2.6.4 The protein components shall not be repeated more than twice in each set of meals

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3.2.7 For gluten-free breakfasts meals, the 7 meals shall include:

3.2.7.1 One French toast meal without egg, with meat

3.2.7.2 Two different pancake meals without egg, with meat

3.2.7.3 Four different egg meals

3.2.7.4 The protein components shall not be repeated more than twice in each set of meals

3.2.8 For plant-based breakfasts meals, the 7 meals shall include:

3.2.8.1 One French toast meal with plant-based meat alternate

3.2.8.2 Two different pancake meals with plant-based meat alternate

3.2.8.3 Four different plant-based egg meals

3.2.8.4 The protein components shall not be repeated more than twice in each set of meals

3.2.9 The same meal may be offered both as a heart-healthy meal and as a gluten-free meal, provided that all other requirements are met. In such cases, each of the two duplicate meals will be treated as an individual, separate meal for evaluation purposes. The duplicate meals shall be listed separately in all bid submittals and meal variety counts.

3.2.10 Vegetables shall not be used as a stand-alone component/entrée in breakfast.

3.2.11 All side dishes shall be varied so that no starch, vegetable or fruit is repeated more than twice for meal sets of 7 (heart-healthy breakfast, gluten-free, and plant-based meals) or four times for meal sets of 14 (heart-heathy lunch/dinner).

3.2.12 Diced beef or poultry ingredients shall be diced to no less than 3/8” size.

3.2.13 Course ground or crumbled beef/poultry is acceptable when presented unformed within a pasta sauce, unformed as part of a filling, unformed in an egg scramble/omelet, formed into patties, formed into meat balls or other common culinary applications. Ground beef or poultry shall not be used as a stand-alone component/entrée. A fine ground texture is not acceptable.

3.2.14 Unformed ground beef or poultry shall be offered no more than one time in meal sets of 7 (heart-healthy breakfast and gluten free meals) and no more than two times in meal sets of 14 (heart-healthy lunch/dinner).

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3.2.15 Heart-healthy and gluten-free meals containing soy, including soy extenders and fillers, shall be limited to two times in meal sets of 7 (breakfast), and no more than three times in meal sets of 14 (heart-healthy lunch/dinner). This restriction does not apply to plant-based meals.

3.2.16 Examples of acceptable meal components:

Lunch/Dinner Entrees Meatballs, meatloaf, beef/poultry patties, beef/poultry strips, beef fillet, poultry fillet, roast portions, diced beef/poultry, boneless breast/thigh whole muscle portions, vegetarian macaroni & cheese, vegetarian chili, vegetarian lunch loaf, vegetarian ravioli, etc.

Breakfast Proteins Non-pork sausage/ham/bacon, eggs (scramble/ scramble mix/omelet/hard boiled), etc.

Side Dish Starches Potatoes (multiple styles/flavors), rice (multiple styles/flavors), pasta, hot cereals (ready to heat & serve), grits, tortillas, etc.

3.3 NUTRITIONAL VALUES

3.3.1 The average nutritional values shall meet the requirements specified in the table below.

Table 2 Average Nutritional Values for All Meals Nutrient Average Limit

Calories (all meals) ≥300 Blank Calories from fat (all meals) ≤30% Blank

Sodium (all meals) ≤500 mg Max 600 mg Potassium (K) (all meals) ≤700 mg Blank

Phosphorus (P) (all meals) ≤260 mg Blank

3.3.2 The bidders shall submit with their bid, a set of charts, tables or comparable documents that identifies the variety type (HH, GF, PB) and meal type (breakfast, lunch/dinner) and lists each of the 49 individual meals’ nutrition values in Table 2.

The documents shall also calculate and clearly display the average nutritional values.

3.3.3 The average nutritional values shall be calculated by adding the individual nutritional value for each of the meals in each nutrient category and dividing by number of meals specified by the variety type. That is to say, the bidder shall provide separate nutritional averages for each variety meal group (heart-healthy

Silahua, F. Page 8 of 9 Apr. 2, 2025 lunch/dinner, gluten-free lunch/dinner, plant-based lunch/dinner, heart-healthy breakfast, etc.)

3.3.4 If duplicate meals are offered in accordance with section 3.2.9 above, each of the meals shall be listed separately, and each meal shall be treated as a separate, individual meal for calculation purposes.

3.4 PORTIONS

3.4.1 Meals shall provide the following portion sizes when reheated and ready to serve:

3.4.1.1 Breakfast shall provide at a minimum:

o 2 oz. meat, egg, or 2.4 oz. plant-based protein equivalent AND o ½ cup fruit AND o ½ cup starch

3.4.1.2 Lunch/Dinner shall provide a minimum:

o 3 oz. meat, egg, or 3.6 oz. plant-based protein equivalent AND o ½ cup fruit or ½ cup vegetable AND o ½ cup starch or ½ cup vegetable

3.4.2 Fruit, vegetable, and starch components shall be varied in accordance with section 3.2.10.

3.4.3 The bidder shall submit with their bid, a chart, table or comparable document set that lists the portion sizes and describes in detail the components of each meal.

4.0 PRESERVATION, PACKAGING, LABELING and MARKING

4.1 PRESERVATION

4.1.1 The meals shall be delivered frozen and be pre-portioned and single serve.

4.1.2 Meals shall be ready-to-serve requiring no additional preparation other than reheating.

4.1.3 The meals shall have a shelf life when frozen of at least 9 months from the date of delivery.

4.2 PACKAGING

4.2.1 Shipping containers shall not exceed 50 lbs. per unit case/bulk package.

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4.2.2 Institutional style bulk packaging is required.

4.2.3 Each individual meal shall be packaged in a multi-compartment, stackable container/tray that is suitable for the type of meal. Containers/trays for different meals shall be uniform in size and stackable atop one another.

4.2.4 An easily removable, reheat-able film shall cover each meal. The film shall remain in place and intact during reheating and seal all compartments from transfer of odors and spillage.

4.2.5 Meals shall be suitable for reheating up to 400 degrees F., in the original packaging, using commercial microwave, conventional thermal and wet steam (combination) type ovens. Meal’s packaging shall not require film to be removed or slit for heating for any method.

4.2.6 Meals shall be stacked directly into the case with no additional box or container such that the meals are quickly and easily accessible upon the opening of the case. Liners are acceptable between layers of stacked meals within the shipping case.

4.3 LABELING

The meal container/tray shall include at a minimum: a date marking (e.g., date-of-packing, use-by date, best-if-used-by date, etc.), entrée type, ingredients, complete heating instructions, Nutrition Facts label, including allergens per meal, and name/address of manufacturer, packer or distributor.

4.4 MARKING

The shipping container shall contain identification including entrée/meal type, product count and the date that correlates to the date used in section 4.3 above.

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.