Manual of Naval Preventive Medicine
Chapter 1: Food Service Sanitation
Section I. General Information

1-7. Disposition of Unsatisfactory Food Items in Navy and Marine Corps Messing Facilities.

Department of the Navy
Bureau of Medicine and Surgery

1. Potentially hazardous or off-condition food, such as swollen cans; products with spoilage indicated by offensive odors, presence of slime, abnormal color or other evidence of deterioration; or items adulterated by foreign material such as metal, glass, dirt, or insects will be reported by priority message to the Defense Personnel Support Center (DPSC-HQ(M)), Philadelphia, PA, in accordance with the DoD Hazardous Food and Nonprescription Drug Recall System and NAVSUP PUB 486. The following will be included as information addressees on the message:

a. NAVSUP (Code 03V);

b. CHBUMED (BUMED-03B4);

c. NAVENVIRHLTHCEN (NEHC-38);

d. Activity that supplied the material;

e. Service Force Commander (if the material was received from a supply ship);

f. Cognizant NAVENPVNTMEDU or Navy Disease Vector Ecology Control and Center if material is infested;

g. NAVFSSO.

2. Issue and use of all suspected items will be suspended pending further instructions from DPSC. Stocks will not be destroyed unless they cannot be effectively segregated and/or present an immediate health or safety hazard as determined by the MDR. Samples should be submitted for laboratory analysis. Final resolution of the matter is dependent upon the speed and thoroughness with which all necessary information is submitted. Do not report obvious overage, deteriorated subsistence, or locally mishandled or abused product as a suspected hazardous food item for worldwide alert. More complete information concerning disposition of hazardous food may be found in NAVSUPINST 10110.8 and NAVSUP PUB 486, Volume 1, Article 4002.

3. Unsatisfactory foods that have defects which are nonhazardous will be reported by the food service officer on DD Form 1608, Unsatisfactory Material Report (Subsistence) to either the NAVSUP (Code 03V) or CMC (Code LFS) as appropriate. When feasible, samples of the material should be submitted for laboratory analysis.

4. Upon receipt of an All Food Activities message from the DPSC, the MDR will coordinate with accountable/ responsible personnel as necessary to identify, segregate, and place suspected items in a "Medical Hold Status". See NAVSUPINST 10110.8.