§ 250.35 - Storage, food safety, quality control, and inventory management.

§ 250.35 Storage, food safety, quality control, and inventory management.

(a) Storage and quality control. The processor must ensure the safe and effective storage of donated foods, including compliance with the general storage requirements in § 250.12, and must maintain an effective quality control system at its processing facilities. The processor must maintain documentation to verify the effectiveness of its quality control system and must provide such documentation upon request.

(b) Food safety requirements. The processor must ensure that all processing of donated foods is conducted in compliance with all Federal, State, and local requirements relative to food safety.

(c) Commingling of donated foods and commercially purchased foods. The processor may commingle donated foods and commercially purchased foods, unless the processing agreement specifically stipulates that the donated foods must be used in processing, and not substituted, or the donated foods have been backhauled from a recipient agency. However, such commingling must be performed in a manner that ensures the safe and efficient use of donated foods, as well as compliance with substitution requirements in § 250.34 and with reporting of donated food inventories on performance reports, as required in § 250.37. The processor must also ensure that commingling of processed end products and other food products, either at its facility or at the facility of a commercial distributor, ensures the sale and delivery of end products that meet the processing requirements in this subpart - e.g., by affixing the applicable USDA certification stamp to the exterior shipping containers of such end products.

(d) Limitation on donated food inventories. Inventories of donated food at processors may not be in excess of a six-month supply, based on an average amount of donated foods utilized, unless a higher level has been specifically approved by the distributing agency on the basis of a written justification submitted by the processor. Distributing agencies are not permitted to submit food orders for processors reporting no sales activity during the prior year's contract period unless documentation is submitted by the processor which outlines specific plans for donated food drawdown, product promotion, or sales expansion. When inventories are determined to be excessive for a State or processor, e.g., more than six months or exceeding the established protection, FNS may require the transfer of inventory and/or entitlement to another State or processor to ensure utilization prior to the end of the school year.

(e) Reconciliation of excess donated food inventories. If, at the end of the school year, the processor has donated food inventories in excess of a six-month supply, the distributing agency may, in accordance with paragraph (d) of this section, permit the processor to carry over such excess inventory into the next year of its agreement, if it determines that the processor may efficiently store and process such quantity of donated foods. The distributing agency may also direct the processor to transfer such donated foods to other recipient agencies, or to transfer them to other distributing agencies, in accordance with § 250.12(e). However, if these actions are not practical, the distributing agency must require the processor to pay it for the donated foods held in excess of allowed levels at the replacement value of the donated foods.

(f) Disposition of donated food inventories upon agreement termination. When an agreement terminates, and is not extended or renewed, the processor must take one of the actions indicated in this paragraph (f) with respect to remaining donated food inventories, as directed by the distributing agency or recipient agency, as appropriate. The processor must pay the cost of transporting any donated foods when the agreement is terminated at the processor's request or as a result of the processor's failure to comply with the requirements of this part. The processor must:

(1) Return the donated foods, or commercially purchased foods that meet the substitution requirements in § 250.34, to the distributing or recipient agency, as appropriate; or

(2) Transfer the donated foods, or commercially purchased foods that meet the substitution requirements in § 250.34, to another distributing or recipient agency with which it has a processing agreement; or

(3) If returning or transferring the donated foods, or commercially purchased foods that meet the substitution requirements in § 250.34, is not feasible, the processor may, with FNS approval, pay the distributing or recipient agency, as appropriate, for the donated foods, at the contract value or replacement value of the donated foods, whichever is higher.