HOW ARE FOOD SPECIFICATIONS USED?
BY MANUFACTURERS
FOR SCHOOL FOOD AUTHORITY RFP’S
Specifications are used by manufacturers to consistently produce products with the same size, ingredients, nutritional quality, meal components, color, texture, and any other characteristics that are deemed important to product performance. Without a properly written specification, manufacturers cannot produce the same product every time.
When responding to school food authority request for proposal, specifications are used to determine if the item the manufacturer produces will meet the requirements. Many times, manufacturers make multiple items of a particular type, such as: beef patty, taco filling, mac and cheese or cheese sauce and some will qualify, while others will not due to fat, sodium, size, pack, and flavor. A good specification will help you get exactly what you are looking for.
FOR DISTRIBUTORS
Specifications included in a school district bid or RFP are used by distributors to determine the specific item(s) that a school is requesting to procure. These specifications are a critically important aspect of the solicitation, ensuring the buying and selling parties are in agreement about the product that is being requested. Distributors need to know as much information as possible about the products the district is wishing to procure PLUS, approximate annual projected case usage. The distributor sends the solicitation to the broker/vendor community for them to review and offer their best price. It is helpful to notate if the item is a hard spec or not. Distributors receive pricing and multiple substitutes for the items listed because other vendors want to sell their brands as an alternate to the brands requested. If you are bidding through the distributor they need to know if you want to see information and pricing for alternate items.
FOR PRODUCE PURCHASING
BY SCHOOL DISTRICTS
Produce specifications should include Pack/Size and Grade. Information about produce grade and size can be found in USDA AMS grades and standards. School districts should work with a produce distributor to identify the appropriate grade and size of fruits for schools. For example, if a district replaces 113ct fancy oranges for 138ct choice grade oranges they could save thousands of dollars (or more) annually. Districts should utilize the expertise of the produce vendor to learn about produce and how to write school appropriate specifications.
Specifications are used by school districts to communicate the specific product and product qualities desired in a solicitation document in a manner mutually understandable to the buyer and potential sellers. Specifications must be included in bid evaluation criteria and award documents.
8 K-12 SPECIFICATION GUIDE
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