District/School Administration PK-16 Program Support
Nutrition, Health and Safety

Commodity Update
March 2008

Donated Food Ordering Procedures

Electronic Commodity Food Allocation/Acceptance Notice

All schools, including Residential Child Care Institutions and Child and Adult Care Centers are required to submit the Food Allocation/Acceptance Notice (offer sheet) electronically via the Internet. Schools and Child and Adult Care Centers no longer receive a printed offer sheet, Commodity Update or notices from this office. Offer sheets will be available on line the fourth Friday of the preceding month. Orders must be submitted by the third Friday of the month for which the offer sheet is available. After that date, the foods listed on the offer will be reallocated with the next month's offers. March's order is due no later than March 21, 2008.

Please allow five days from the date you submit your order before calling the warehouse or carrier for a delivery date. All orders must be picked up by the end of the following month.

On February 17, 2008, USDA issued Class II recall of frozen beef products produced by Westland Meat Packing Company located in Chino, California. A class II recall is a health hazard situation where there is a remote probability of adverse health consequences Some Massachusetts schools and child and adult care centers have received finished processed products made from beef supplied to processors by Westland Meat Company. USDA officials have issued this recall for regulatory violations at the Westland Meat facility and that the agency has no reports of human illness linked to the recalled products.

Please refer to the Document and Reference Library of the Department of Education Security Portal or the DOE website at www.doe.mass.edu/cnp/food_dist/ for information about this recall.

USDA Frozen Fruit Cups-Peaches and Strawberries

Vendors providing frozen fruit cups are required to have an identifiable code on each of the primary containers reflecting the date of pack. To meet this requirement, the majority of the vendors are using the actual date of pack on the primary containers i.e. individual cups. The date stamped on the bottom of the individual cups is a pack date, not an expiration date or a best if used by date.

Based on the number of questions and concerns received in school year 2007/2008, USDA has requested that all vendors immediately change to a julian date on the containers, but unfortunately, the majority of the product has already been packed. They have changed the Commodity Specifications for next year and beyond by requiring only julian dates on the primary containers.

Direct Diversion Surveys for Processing for SY 2008-2009

The direct diversion survey for Group A foods is available on line through the DOE's security portal. Schools and Child and Adult Care Centers that want USDA commodity meat, poultry and eggs diverted for processed products in school year 2008-2009 must complete the diversion survey online. Printed requests for the direct diversion survey for Group A commodities will not be accepted.

The direct diversion survey for meat, poultry and eggs must be submitted online no later than March 21, 2008. This deadline is necessary so that when USDA sends out allocations for each donated food, we will know the shipping destinations. Our timely ordering of USDA group A-type foods helps us to get processed products to you earlier in the next school year.

The direct diversion survey for Group B commodities, cheese and peanut butter is closed.

The following documents regarding processing are available in the Document and Reference Library:

Group B Direct Diversion Survey Submission
Procedures for Handling Processed Product Between Contracted Warehouses and Schools.
Refund/Rebate Payments.
Approved Processors in Massachusetts-School Year 2007-2008.

More Information regarding the processing program is available at the USDA Food Distribution website at www.fns.usda.gov/fdd/. Click on Commodity Processing in the yellow box on the right side of the page. USDA Downloadable/Printable Posters for Nutrition Information of Raw Fruits, Vegetables and Fish

Food Distribution Staff Directory

Martha Herlihy, Section Head 781-338-6473
mherlihy@doe.mass.edu

Ahmed Bilimoria
781-338-6506
abilimoria@doe.mass.edu
Internet offer sheet questions, Shipping and receiving questions

Darlene Wong-Kam
781-338-6478
Dwong-kam@doe.mass.edu
Processing questions

Alice Yee
781-338-6453
ayee@doe.mass.edu
Invoice reprints

Michael Murphy
781-338-6542
mjmurphy@doe.mass.edu
Invoice reprints