Supplement 512 for Fish and Fishery Products

The Agricultural Marketing Service, operating under the USDA AMS 3J14, has issued Special Notice 12-3J14-Notice-26-004 regarding the publication of the Final Supplement 512 for Fish and Fishery Products. This notice falls under NAICS 311710 for Seafood Product Preparation and Packaging and PSC 8905 for Meat, Poultry, and Fish. The update introduces revised standards for various fish products to ensure alignment with USDC/NOAA Grade A requirements and the Master Solicitation. Two attachments, including the January 2026 Supplement 512 and Product Specifications & Requirements, were published on January 6, 2026, and the response deadline for this notice is January 1, 2027.

The revised supplement includes several primary updates to product requirements and documentation procedures. Raw material requirements for shrimp are reduced from 18 months to 12 months to meet USDC/NOAA Grade A criteria, and industry contractors must now list product temperatures on the Checkloading certificate at the time of loading. Under the Product Assurance section, vendors are required to provide written proof of an approved Product Management Plan from USDC/NOAA to verify that finished products meet grade mark criteria. Additionally, shipping case closure requirements are added to the Atlantic Fish Fillet and Walleye Federal Purchase Program Specifications (FPPS), while the Walleye FPPS now includes specific commercial labeling requirements for colors.

Operational changes also include a requirement for truck seal numbers to be recorded on the Bill of Lading for all delivered products. For Wild Shrimp and Pacific Seafood FPPS, vendors must maintain a Letter of Conformance from raw material suppliers confirming the product was pre-processed by an approved USDC/NOAA establishment, remains additive-free, was stored at zero degrees Fahrenheit or below for no more than 12 months, and meets domestic origin standards. These updates ensure that all vendors maintain documentation supporting the storage, processing, and domestic origin of fishery products as required by the Master Solicitation.