Final Supplement 603 Frozen Bison Items - April 2026

The Agricultural Marketing Service issued special notice 12-3J14-Notice-26-011 to provide the updated Supplement 603 for frozen bison items. This notice falls under NAICS 311611 Animal (except Poultry) Slaughtering and PSC 8905 MEAT, POULTRY, AND FISH. The updated supplement establishes revised standards for the procurement and delivery of frozen bison, with a response deadline set for January 1, 2027.

The April 2026 updates introduce new language regarding the domestic origin of meat components and specify that truck seal numbers must be recorded on the bill of lading. Vendors are now required to record product temperature at the time of loading on the contractor’s checkloading shipping documentation. Terminology throughout the supplement has been updated to replace immediate and shipping container verbiage with "primary package" and "shipping case," while the Certificate of Conformance now requires a "shipping date" instead of a "delivery date." Additionally, the document reflects the name change of the North American Meat Institute to the Meat Institute.

Technical requirements in the supplement mandate that metal detection validation be performed with all three metals during every testing interval, including specific TP procedural requirements. The notice includes two attachments: the Product Specifications & Requirements and the Final Supplement 603 PDF, both published on April 10, 2026. These documents detail the updated operational and animal welfare standards required for the performance of the contract.