The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) ordered last week more than $700,000 worth of frozen whole-wheat pancakes and waffles for use in its domestic food programs.
The agency issued a $700,743 award for the frozen products on Thursday, which include sweet-potato pancakes and Belgian waffles.
The waffles will come in a variety of flavors, including apple cinnamon, banana, buttermilk, blueberry, cinnamon, oat bran, multi-grain, maple, chocolate, and chocolate chip, which the USDA says, "may be slightly dry and spongy with a chewy interior" in its Commercial Item Description.
The contract offers detailed instructions for the quality of the products, such as the waffles "shall be moist and tender, not dry or rubbery."
Types of pancakes include whole grain and sweet potato, which "shall have a golden-yellow brown exterior and golden yellow interior color."
"There shall be no foreign odors or flavors such as, but not limited to, burnt, scorched, musty, or moldy," the USDA says, but griddle marks "may be present."
A total of 839,160 pounds will be distributed through domestic food programs across the country, including Birmingham, Ala., Phoenix, Ariz., Sacramento, Calif., and Philadelphia.
The products will be delivered between October and December this year. The contract was awarded to Guidry Liason Group, an organic wholesaler.
The USDA’s Processed Commodities Branch first began ordering wheat breakfast items in October 2007.