ADDENDUM 1 TO RFB 5768: Direct Diversion of Bulk U.S.D.A Foods into End Products

Transcription

1 November 30, 2018 ADDENDUM 1 TO RFB 5768: Direct Diversion of Bulk U.S.D.A Foods into End Products Exhibit 1 Revised Food Specifications for Direct Diversion Form has been posted Please note that Exhibit 1 Revised Food Specifications for Direct Diversion Form has been posted with the release of this Addendum 1, and hereby replaces the Exhibit 1 originally posted and released with this RFB. Changes reflected in the Exhibit are as follows: a. Product box heights have been lengthened in all tabs to include full description b. Under Chicken Tab - Items # 2 and have been updated c. Column R on all Tabs has been updated to per Case Clarifications: 1. B 5763 Section 10.3 Delivery Requirement Please note that the language listed in section 10.3 of the RFB, order from MPS, is deleted and replaced with, order from the Prime Vendor. 2. Exhibit 3 Sampling Procedure Please note that the manufacturer notification date for taste testing listed on Exhibit 3 of December 11, 2018 has been changed. MPS anticipates notification for taste testing will be made no later than December 13, Respondent Questions and MPS Answers: 1. Q: Per page 4 of the bid packet, is the Student Engagement form required to complete? A: No. 2. Q: Under items to bid, we do have a Breaded General Tso s Chicken, but it is not an NAE product. Can we still bid our item? A: MPS is requiring NAE only product. 3. Q: On page 4, Section 2.3 ( Forms ), you reference needing to submit Appendix B Prime Vendor Information Sheet with the bid (as that box has been checked). It is stated elsewhere in the documentation that your prime vendor is Sysco Eastern Wisconsin, so presumably Sysco should be completing this sheet, correct? If so, then please confirm that you re expecting the manufacturer to reach out to Sysco to complete this form and return it along with their bid. A: The Appendix B- Prime Vendor Information Sheet should be filled out by each firm responding to MPS Bid 5768 and included with the bid response. 4. Q: Are product samples required before the bid opening (if so, details?), or only upon request after passing the pricing/evaluation phase? A: Once MPS reviews the product documentation and pricing submitted by 2:00pm CST on Monday, December , the District will notify the selected Respondents shortly thereafter of what items need to be exhibited at the Mini Food Show. 1

2 5. Q: Are you aware of the following communication from the USDA? If so, will this impact the due date of your RFB? With the delay in the release of this information, it will be incredibly difficult to respond to the RFB within the time allotted. To be able to complete the bid within this timeline, that would presume that the manufacturers would have their SY19-20 bid pricing finalized immediately upon receipt of this pending information from the USDA, which may not be feasible in some cases. A: MPS will continue to follow the time line indicated in the RFB. 6. Q: What is the address where samples are to be sent? And what is the date and time that they are due? A: Once MPS reviews the product specifications submitted and pricing, this information will be provided to manufactures who are selected for taste testing. 7. Q: Several items are described in Exhibit 1 as both personal round, and in the next line of the specification as frozen, bulk-packed wedge pizza which do you want, or are you wanting to see both formats? A: MPS will be looking at both items that meet the specifications identified. 8. Q: Do we need to supply sample product for items which have spec d our particular items (which are currently active on your bid)? A: After the manufacture s product is selected for the Mini Food Show, even if the District has procured the exact same product in the past, it must be presented at the food show. 9. Q: As of Nov. 25, USDA has not released SY19-20 commodity values, and has no firm grasp of when they will do so. In order to assure we can get your bid submitted on time, we will need to ship it on Dec 5, giving consideration for a Monday opening, and over weekend shipping/weather considerations. If no SY19-20 value has been released, should we use current values to submit? A: SEPDS will be available Dec 3, MPS will do its absolute best to review all documents and alert manufacturers by December 13, 2018 of selected items that will need to be ordered for sampling. 10. Q: Your reference to local and Midwest products- Are these guidelines, or are you excluding products which are not manufactured within the states you call out in Section 1.2 2

3 Every reference I am familiar with regarding the state of Ohio (where our products are made) has been connected with the Midwest also. The preferences noted for those states (and obviously their manufacturers) might be considered unfair, unless the preferences would also apply for our company, since our headquarters is located in Illinois. Can you please clarify? A: Products that are not local can be included. The local items receive a percentage decrease in price for evaluation purposes of the RFB only. 11. Q: For samples do you require NAE samples or will you accept conventional samples and provided NAE labels? A: If a product is specified as a NAE product, the product with that specification will only be accepted. If the product is selected for sampling, the sample must be the NAE product. 12. Q: Within the Specifications in Exhibit 1, Pizza (17), there is conflicting data within several line items in the End Product Description (column C). Can you please clarify what type of product(s) you are looking for? a. Example: line item 10 Personal Round is included as well as bulk wedge. Are you looking for a round, personal sized pizza, or a wedge product? A: MPS will be looking at both items that meet the specifications identified. If a manufacturer only has one of the items, then complete that area; if have both can respond to both items. 13. Q: For line item #16 Mandarin Orange Chicken, our company is listed as an approved vendor for our breaded product # However, the description of the specifications listed on Exhibit 1 state that the product should be "unbreaded." Can you please confirm that we can bid our breaded Mandarin Orange Chicken # for this line item? A: This product specification has been altered to: Breaded. This specification has been updated in Exhibit 1 Revised Food Specifications for Direct Diversion Form. 14. Q: Can you please update our company name on Exhibit 2? Our company is listed as "Yangs Fifth Taste," and our correct company name is "Yangs 5th Taste." A: This document was obtained from the Wisconsin DPI Website. 15. Q: Can you please provide a definition of what MPS considers to be an "artificial ingredient"? A: MPS is working towards food items that have cleaner labels with minimal preservatives added. Thus, MPS shows preference to food items with no MSG, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Trans Fat, Artificial Food Coloring, Artificial Sweeteners and Artificial Flavoring. 16. Q: For the Chicken Tab of price sheet Exhibit 1, the column descriptions (in yellow) appear to be cut-off and we are not able to see the full text. Since the spreadsheet is locked to prevent editing, we cannot stretch the columns to show the text. Can you please provide an updated spreadsheet that does not cut-off the column descriptions of the Chicken Tab? A: This issue has been addressed in Exhibit 1 Revised Food Specifications for Direct Diversion Form. 17. Q: For Exhibit 1 Price Sheet Chicken Tab, can you confirm that Column Q " Delivered Price per Case into Prime Vendor" is asking for the delivered price per case inclusive of the Donated Food Value? For example, if the commodity processing fee per case is $50 and the Donated Food Value per case is $10, bidders should enter $60 in this column? 3

4 A: Please refer to heading of Column S. Actual Case Price = Delivered Cost in Prime Vendor (Q) Pass Through Value (R) 18. Q: For Exhibit 1 Price Sheet Chicken Tab, can you confirm that Column R "Pass Through Value per Unit" is asking for the Donated Food Value per Case? A: Yes, Column R- Pass Through Value per Unit - refers to Pass Through Value per Case. This issue has been addressed in Exhibit 1 Revised Food Specifications for Direct Diversion Form. 19. Q: If Exhibit 1 specifies that a sample is required for the line item we are bidding, is the sample due at the same time as the bid deadline of 12/10/18? If so, can you please provide an address where bidders can ship samples to? Can you specify if a full, unopened case of sample is required and how many servings are required? A: No, samples are not due on December 10, 2018 as the District needs to first review the nutritional information and pricing. Upon evaluation of the bid response, the District will reach out to each manufacturer to inform them of samples needed and specifics for sampling. Please refer to Attachment C of the bid for additional information. 20. Q: Can you confirm that Exhibit 5 Professional Services Contract is provided for our reference and is not required to be completed and submitted with our bid response? A: That is correct you do not need to submit the contract. The Professional Services Contract attached as Exhibit 5 to RFB 5768 will be presented to Respondents that are awarded as a result of the RFB upon approval by the Milwaukee Board of School Directors. 21. Q: Can you confirm that the successful bidders will be required to deliver product to Prime Vendor Sysco Eastern Wisconsin in Jackson, WI only? A: MPS has a current contract with Sysco of Eastern Wisconsin for our Prime Vendor with a potential for 4 additional school years. 22. Q: For line items of the Chicken Tab of Exhibit 1 processed from chicken #100113, MPS is requesting "No Antibiotics Ever" products. However, to the best of our knowledge Donated Chicken # from the USDA is not certified as "No Antibiotics Ever." Can you please clarify on how commodity processors are to meet the NAE requirement given this information? A: The District stands corrected that products Line 14 (Teriyaki), 15 (General Tso s) and 16 (Orange) are not NAI/NAE. However, MPS is looking for product that does not contain soy protein, MSG, artificial coloring or flavoring and peanuts or peanut oil. These specifications have been updated in Exhibit 1 Revised Food Specifications for Direct Diversion Form. 23. Q: Wild Mike s code #80549 listed on line#14 states it as Turkey Pepperoni, however that code # is not a turkey pepperoni product, we only have an All Beef pepperoni. It meets all the other criteria except for turkey. How should we proceed to bid on this product? A: Products need to meet the same specifications except MPS will accept an all-beef product (no pork). Please provide correct material code. 24. Q: Regarding the chicken portion of the RFB 5768: Line 2 - the description is for Breaded WG Crispy Tenders made with whole muscle; however, the Tyson product code that is spec d does not match that description. The product code shown is which is a dark meat chunk. That is on Line #10. MPS is 4

5 currently purchasing Tyson product code which meets the description of Line 2. Will you change the product code that is spec d to so we are bidding the correct product code or how should we proceed? A: The incorrect item code was provided under the Chicken Tab for line 2- Breaded Whole Grain Crispy Tender made with whole meat. The correct specification is Tyson or Equal. This specification has been updated in Exhibit 1 Revised Food Specifications for Direct Diversion Form. 25. Q: Regarding the chicken portion of the RFB 5768: Line 14, 15 and 16 it shows material code only. Tyson makes equal products out of dark. Can Tyson bid these products on these lines? A: No. If you have already submitted a response to MPS for this RFB and you wish to resubmit a response due to this addendum, mark this new response Amended RFB Replaces original. 5