Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Chuck Conner on July 15 announced USDA's plan to purchase up to 7.5 million pounds of canned pineapple juice to be donated to child nutrition and other domestic food assistance programs.

"This purchase will provide recipients of our federal food programs with a good, nutritious, quality fruit product," said Conner. "Because the crop is abundant this year, USDA is taking advantage of the opportunity to purchase and share this product with schools and other domestic food agencies."

The announcement is in addition to 4.1 million pounds of canned pineapple juice that USDA has already purchased in the current fiscal year (which began Oct. 1, 2004). USDA purchased 25.1 million pounds in fiscal year 2004, and 11.5 million pounds in FY 2003.

USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service purchases a variety of high quality food products each year for distribution by USDA's Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) for the national school lunch program, the school breakfast program, the summer food service program, the food distribution program on Indian reservations, the nutrition program for the elderly, the commodity supplemental food program and the emergency food assistance program. USDA also makes emergency purchases of commodities for distribution to victims of natural disasters.

In fiscal year 2004, AMS purchased 1.5 billion pounds of food worth nearly $1 billion for federal food programs, including 216 million pounds of beef, pork, lamb and fish; 233 million pounds of eggs, chicken and other poultry products; and more than 1 billion pounds of fruits and vegetables.

With the announcement of USDA's intention to buy, FNS will survey potential recipients to determine how much product will be accepted for shipping. AMS will seek the lowest overall cost by publicly inviting bids to supply the desired quantity and by awarding contracts to responsible bidders.

Government food experts work to ensure that all the food they purchase is healthful and nutritious. Food items are normally required to be low in fat, sugar and sodium. The commodities must meet specified grade requirements and be USDA-inspected or graded to ensure quality. AMS purchases only products of 100 percent domestic origin.

More information about USDA programs is available at www.usda.gov.

Date: 7/20/05