Shipping Instructions.docx

This is a Shipping Instructions document establishing delivery and product requirements for the State of Iowa's procurement of food items for the CDC Warehouse in Woodward, Iowa. The document outlines mandatory shipping specifications that all bidders must satisfy to be deemed responsible vendors. Products must arrive on pallets and shrink-wrapped in clean, insulated trailers with all freight charges and fuel costs included in the bid price as delivered pricing to the warehouse. Products must comply with USDA grade standards for both product and container condition, be labeled appropriately, and include pack date codes with accompanying keys upon request. Canned products cannot be received frozen, and deliveries must occur within 30 days of purchase order receipt or be considered late, at which point the award may be reassigned to the next lowest bidder or the contract may be rebid.

Bidders are responsible for ensuring all USDA standards are met and must provide proof of pack date and pack origin if requested. Damaged products or freight not meeting agency specifications will be refused; if damaged packages are discovered within a pallet, those packages will be set aside for credit or the entire load may be refused with pickup costs borne by the bidder. The agency may request product samples for testing, and consideration will be given to products packed in the USA. All replacement and pickup costs for rejected products become the bidder's responsibility, and bidders must ship only the products indicated in their submitted bids.