NEWSLETTER FOR VENDORS
volume 14 issue 1
www.health.state.mn.us/divs/fh/wic
MARCH 2014
INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
Dear WIC Authorized Vendors,
This year marks the 40th anniversary of the WIC Program. Each
month over 120,000 women and children from birth to age 5
participate in WIC here in Minnesota. As one of the retail food
stores participating in the WIC Program, you are a vital partner for
the success of the WIC Program helping the children in your
community grow and thrive.
The WIC Matters newsletter is one way we inform and remind our
retail partners about WIC procedures and update you on WIC
changes. Let us know if you have issues that you would like us to
address in the newsletter or suggestions about items we could
share with other retailers. We welcome your input on how the WIC
shopping experience can be improved.
Sincerely,
Rick Chiat
WIC Food Delivery Unit Supervisor
Page 1: WIC is 40!
Page 2: Similac Formula Container Size Changes
Shelf Price Survey Due April 25
Page 3: Non-Compliance With WIC Requirements Can
Be Costly
Purchase Formula From Approved Source
Page 4: Reduce the Number of Rejected Vouchers
Cashier Training
Page 5: Keep Up On Changes to the WIC Program
WIC Vendor Advisory Group
WIC EBT Update
USDA Issues Final WIC Food Package Rule
Page 6: UPC/WIC Allowed Foods Update
Refrigerated Orange Juice Reminder
Peanut Butter Reminder
Page 7: Shopping Guide and Cashier Guide Updated
Updated Special Formula Price List
Updated Shelf Labels Available
Ordering WIC Materials
WIC is 40!
For 40 years the WIC program has been helping families by providing nutrition education,
healthy foods, breastfeeding support and healthcare referrals. We are grateful for your
partnership in this important program! Every time a WIC customer purchases the correct
healthy foods listed on their vouchers, you have helped to improve the health and nutritional
status of the youngest members of the community in which you live and work. We look
forward to continuing to work with you to enhance the WIC shopping experience for your WIC
customers.
We thank you for your partnership!
PAGE 2
WICMATTERS MARCH 2014
Similac Formula Container Size Changes
As we previously communicated to each store, the container sizes of three Similac powder infant formulas
will soon be changing. Below are the changes and the anticipated dates that they will start to appear in stores:
Formula
Current Size
New
Similac Sensitive powder
12.6 ounce
Similac Total Comfort powder
12.6 ounce
Si
12 ounce
z
12 ounce e
Similac Spit Up powder
12.3 ounce
12 ounce
Effective
Date
April 2014
UPC
Co
70074-57541
de
June 2014
70074-62600
July 2014
70074-50960
Note: The UPC codes for these 3 products will not be changing, and the UPC code and size of the 12.4 ounce
container of Similac Advance powder will also not be changing. The 12.4 ounce Similac Advance powder (the
most common WIC formula) should be labeled as WIC Allowed so it is easy for your WIC customers to find.
To insure a smooth transition as the sizes of these three formulas change, we have revised the wording on the
vouchers. Below is a chart of how the vouchers will be worded and a description of what formula WIC
customers can purchase with their WIC vouchers:
If voucher lists:
The WIC customer can receive:
12.6 OR 12.0 oz powder Similac
Sensitive
Any combination of 12.6 ounce Similac
Sensitive and/or 12 ounce Similac Sensitive
powder formula
Any combination of 12.6 ounce Similac Total
Comfort and/or 12 ounce Similac Total
Comfort powder formula
Any combination of 12.3 ounce Similac Spit
Up and/or 12 ounce Similac Spit Up powder
formula
12.4 ounce Similac Advance powder formula
12.6 OR 12.0 oz powder Similac
Total Comfort
12.3 OR 12.0 oz powder Similac
Spit Up
12.4 oz powder Similac Advance
During the transition to the new sizes of these formulas, it is important that you continue to order and have
available a sufficient quantity of each of these formulas to meet the demands of your WIC customers. It is also
important that you continue to provide participants with the specific type and size of formula listed on the
voucher.
If you have any questions about these changes or if you experience any difficulties obtaining these products
from your supplier, please contact Rick Chiat at (651) 201-4401 or by email at [email protected].
Next Shelf Price Survey Due On April 25
Earlier this month, each retail food store was sent a Shelf Price Survey (either directly or
through your store’s corporate office) that must be completed and returned to the address
listed on the price survey. The deadline for the return of the price survey is April 25, 2014. The
WIC Maximum Price List is updated based on the information gathered from these surveys.
The results of this latest price survey will be posted in the “Important Vendor News” section of
the web site around the middle of May.
The current Maximum Price List can be found on the Requirements and Responsibilities page of our website
at: http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/fh/wic/vendor/rqrmnts/newprcng.pdf
WICMATTERS MARCH 2014
PAGE 3
Non-Compliance With WIC Requirements Can Be Costly!
29 Stores Terminated 16 Stores Disqualified
In the last year, the WIC Program has sanctioned stores for the following violations:






The agreements of 29 stores were terminated because they failed to meet program
requirements (they did not have at least the minimum quantities and varieties of WIC foods, did
not have the prices of WIC foods displayed, their prices exceeded the maximum allowed prices,
or they did not reimburse the WIC Program for overpriced vouchers). These stores had to stop
accepting vouchers, and could not reapply for authorization for two months.
Five stores were disqualified for three years for overcharging, in which the price written on
a voucher was more than the cost of the foods purchased by an undercover investigator.
Five stores were disqualified because they were disqualified from the SNAP (EBT)
Program. The state WIC rules mandate that any store disqualified from the SNAP Program will
also be disqualified from the WIC Program for the same period of time. Three of these were
permanent disqualifications.
Three stores were audited and subsequently disqualified for three years for not having
enough foods (in stock and purchased) to support the WIC vouchers they redeemed.
One store was disqualified for a year for redeeming vouchers accepted at a separate
unauthorized store site.
Two stores were disqualified for one year for obtaining infant formula from an
unauthorized source. All WIC formula must be purchased by one of the approved sources
listed http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/fh/wic/vendor/rqrmnts/infant.html.
All WIC Program requirements are listed in your store’s Vendor Agreement, or can be found at:
http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/fh/wic/vendor/rqrmnts/index.html.
If you have any questions about these requirements, please contact Mary Rogness at (651) 201-4418 or by
email at: [email protected]
Infant Formula Must Be Purchased From an Approved Source
Two stores have recently been disqualified for obtaining infant formula from an unauthorized source.
As stated in your store’s agreement and the state rules and federal regulations governing the WIC Program, all
infant formula provided to WIC customers must be purchased from authorized wholesalers and retailers which
appear on the WIC Program’s Infant Formula Authorized Purchasing List. A copy of this list can be obtained at
http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/fh/wic/vendor/rqrmnts/infant.html
Please make sure that your store keeps all of its invoices and stock purchase records for infant formula
purchase; you will need to send copies of these invoices and stock purchase records to the WIC Program upon
request.
If you have questions, please contact Beth Shaw at (651) 201-4416 or by email at: [email protected]
PAGE 4
WICMATTERS MARCH 2014
Reduce the Number of Rejected Vouchers
In January 2014, a total of 1,949 vouchers, representing $34,635.41 in WIC food redemptions, were rejected due
to errors of some type. Although this number is small in comparison to the number of vouchers that are
redeemed by stores overall, there is definitely room for improvement. These rejected vouchers result in a cost to
your store and to the WIC Program as well. The most common reasons for vouchers to be rejected by the bank
are the following:




Missing and illegible vendor stamps
Missing customer signatures
Unreasonable dollar amount on Fruit/Vegetable vouchers
Early cashing
All of these items can be easily corrected by taking the following actions:
Missing and illegible vendor stamps:
Examples:
To help assure your stamp is legible on each voucher, take these steps:
 Use only black ink.
 Clean your stamp with fingernail polish remover or rubbing alcohol as needed (1-3 times/month). If
ink builds up between the numbers, use a paperclip to remove the build-up.
 If a stamp mark is illegible, clean and/or re-ink the stamp, and re-stamp the voucher in the blank
space under the food items.
 If your stamp cannot print legibly, call us at (651) 201-4417 for a stamp replacement. Only the WIC
Program can replace your stamp; you should never make your own vendor stamp.
Missing customer signatures: Please remind your cashiers that they must always obtain a WIC customer
signature on every voucher including the fruit and vegetable vouchers.
Unreasonable dollar amounts: Please make sure that the dollar value entered on the front of the fruit and
vegetable vouchers does not exceed the maximum dollar value listed on the voucher.
Early cashing: Please be sure to check the dates listed on each voucher and do not accept a voucher before
the first day to use date listed on the voucher. We recommend that store cashiers write the date they accept a
voucher underneath the first day to use date as a way to verify that the date of use is valid.
Cashier Training
We expect that every cashier is trained on how to process WIC vouchers and knows which foods are WIC
Allowed. We also expect that every WIC customer will be treated with respect and provided the same
courtesies as any other customer. The WIC Shopping Guide and WIC Cashier Guide should be available at all
registers for easy reference. To assist stores in training new cashiers on how to process a WIC voucher and
how to treat the WIC customer with courtesy, we have made available both a cashier training DVD as well as a
participant DVD. The participant DVD describes the foods available on the WIC Program and how to shop with
WIC vouchers at the store. The participant DVD has good information for stores cashiers as well. Both of these
DVDs can be viewed online or be ordered and sent to your store.
To view the cashier training DVD click on the following link:
http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/fh/wic/vendor/dvd.html
To view the Participant training DVD click on the following link:
http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/fh/wic/welcomevideo.html
Both DVDs can be ordered online at the following link:
http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/fh/wic/vendor/comm/ordering.html
PAGE 5
WICMATTERS MARCH 2014
Keep Up On Changes to the WIC
Program
Package size changes,
discontinued
products,
updated maximum prices,
contract requirements……
WIC vendors have a lot to
keep track of. What is the
best way to keep up with
all the WIC news you need to know? The Important
Vendor News page on our website! Check monthly for
new information and stay current on news that affects
you and your WIC customers. Information is often
posted online before a newsletter can be printed and
mailed. The link is found in the middle of the main WIC
Vendor page at:
http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/fh/wic/vendor/index.
html
Another way to stay current on WIC foods is to sign up
to receive an email when a new UPC/Product Update
has been posted online. To sign up, send an email to:
[email protected]
WIC Vendor Advisory Group
We are pleased to announce that we are planning to
reconvene the WIC Vendor Advisory Group to provide
input to us on matters related to the WIC program’s
relationship with our retail food store vendors. The
WIC vendor advisory group is comprised of a network
of large and small retail food stores, the Minnesota
Grocer’s Association, food distributors, and local and
state agency WIC staff. The Vendor Advisory Group
provides a forum to discuss key issues impacting the
WIC program and the shopping experience of the WIC
participants. Among the topics to be considered by the
Advisory Group are the following: potential WIC rule
changes, the implementation of EBT, changes
stemming from the issuance of the final food package
rule, labeling of WIC foods and ways to improve the
training of store cashiers and the WIC shopping
experience of the WIC participants who shop at the
stores. We plan to convene the next meeting of the
WIC Vendor Advisory Group in the summer of this
year. We will be contacting the previous members of
this group to determine if they are still interested in
participating in the group. We are also interested in
soliciting new members to participate in the group. If
you would like to be considered for membership,
please contact Rick Chiat at (651) 201-4401 or by
email at: [email protected]
WIC EBT Update
As previously noted, all states are required to have a
WIC EBT system in place by the year 2020. A
number of states throughout the country have already
implemented a WIC EBT system and several of our
neighboring states (including Iowa and Wisconsin)
are planning to implement a WIC EBT system in the
near future. We have been actively monitoring the
EBT systems currently in operation in other states
and are beginning our initial planning phase. We will
be submitting our first planning document to USDA
next month for its review and approval. This planning
document will indicate our intent to pilot our WIC EBT
system beginning in calendar year 2018 and will
outline the planning activities and timeline that we
intend to follow to accomplish this task. Further
details regarding our EBT planning activities will
follow.
If you have any questions, please contact: Rick Chiat
at (651) 201-4401 or by email at:
[email protected]
USDA Issues Final WIC Food
Package Rule
On March 4, 2014, USDA issued the final food
package rule that formally implements the major food
product changes that were made to the WIC program
several years ago. The final food package rule does
contain a few notable changes which we are currently
reviewing. These changes include:
1. The addition of whole wheat pasta (such as
spaghetti or penne pasta) as a whole grain item.
2. The addition of yogurt (up to a quart per
participant) as a partial substitution for milk.
3. The issuance of a fruit and vegetable voucher
for fresh produce only (ranging from $4 to $8) for
infants between the ages of 9 to 12 months in place
of a portion of the infant fruits and vegetables which
they currently receive.
4. An increase in the amount of the fruit and
vegetable voucher for children from $6 to $8. This
change will occur beginning May 2014.
You can review the complete final food package rule
at: http://www.fns.usda.gov/sites/default/files/03-0414_WIC-Food-Packages-Final-Rule.pdf
We will keep in close communication with you
regarding our plans for implementing these
changes.
PAGE 6
WICMATTERS MARCH 2014
UPC/WIC-Allowed Food Product Updates
The online UPC listing of the WIC-Allowed foods is frequently revised. Revisions identify new brands,
discontinued products and product changes sent to us by the manufacturers. Changes made to the list are
compiled on an Update page and posted to our website. We encourage you to update
your scanning system as soon as possible to reflect the changes. These Update pages
can be found on the website at:
http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/fh/wic/vendor/fpchng/upc/updates/index.html
If you would like to receive notification when these UPC changes are posted to our
website, please send an email to: [email protected]

Reminder: 59 Ounce Refrigerated Orange Juice Is Not WIC Allowed
We continue to hear about situations in which there is confusion on the part of WIC participants regarding the
sizes and brands of refrigerated orange juice that are WIC allowed. For over one year, 59 ounce refrigerated
orange juice (including the major brands pictured below) has not been WIC Allowed. However, there
are several 64 ounce refrigerated juices still available and the list of these can be accessed at:
http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/fh/wic/vendor/fpchng/upc/download/juicepdf.cfm
To minimize confusion, it is important that stores use shelf labels to identify the WIC allowed brand(s) of 64
ounce refrigerated orange juice that are available.
These brands of Refrigerated Orange Juice are 59 oz and are NOT WIC Allowed
Tropicana
Minute Maid
Florida’s Natural
Simply Orange
 Reminder: Peanut Butter Must Be in a 16 to 18 oz. Package and Cannot Be a Spread




Only 16 to 18 ounce size containers are considered WIC Allowed.
Jif Natural Peanut Butter Spread is Not WIC Allowed because it is a spread
Skippy Natural Peanut Butter Spread is Not WIC Allowed because it is a spread
Simply Jif is only 15.5.oz and is Not WIC Allowed
Please access the following link for the list of peanut butters that are WIC Allowed:
http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/fh/wic/vendor/fpchng/upc/download/peanutbutterpdf.cfm
To minimize confusion, it is important that stores use shelf labels to identify the WIC allowed brands of peanut
butter that are available.
These Peanut Butter products are NOT WIC Allowed:
Jif Natural
Skippy Natural
Simply Jif
WICMATTERS MARCH 2014
PAGE 7
Shopping Guide and Cashier Guide Updated for 2014
The WIC Shopping Guide and Cashier Guide were updated for 2014 and are
available in both English and Spanish. Guides were sent to all stores in the state
in early January. The updated guides are available on our website at:
http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/fh/wic/vendor/comm/index.html
You will notice minor updates to package images and picture sizes, updates to
several foods and brands allowed, and some new clarifications for which foods
are allowed and not allowed. In accordance with USDA guidelines, the allowed
packaging sizes changed in several food categories.
Updated Special Formula Price List
The Special Formula Price List was updated in January 2014 and can be found on our website at:
http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/fh/wic/vendor/rqrmnts/spclfrml.pdf
If you have questions, please contact Rick Chiat at (651) 201-4401 or by email at: [email protected]
Updated WIC Shelf Labels Now Available
New packets of updated shelf labels are now available. They can be
ordered from our website at:
http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/fh/wic/vendor/comm/ordering.html
Shelf labels help your WIC customers find the correct WIC allowed
foods in your store which can then reduce problems at the checkout lane.
Looking for WIC Program Forms and Materials?
Check out our website to find the information you need about the Minnesota WIC Program. If you are looking
for materials to order, click on the Communication and Materials link found on the top row on the main vendor
website page found at: http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/fh/wic/vendor/index.html
To access WIC Customer Incident Reports:
http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/fh/wic/localagency/program/mom/exhbts/ex1/1j.pdf
To access Minnesota WIC Program Order Form Including Shelf Labels:
http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/fh/wic/vendor/comm/ordering.html
If you need assistance, contact Theresa Graham at (651) 201-4417
MINNESOTA WIC PROGRAM
85 East Seventh Place Suite 220
PO Box 64882
St. Paul MN 55164-0882
Minnesota WIC Program
Address
85 East Seventh Place
Suite 220
PO Box 64882
St Paul MN 55164-0882
Website
www.health.state.mn.us/divs/fh/wic
Phone
651-201-4404
Toll free:1-800-657-3942
Fax
651-215-8951
PRSRT STD
U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
PERMIT NO 171
TWIN CITIES MN
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination against its customers,
employees, and applicants for employment on the bases of race, color, national origin, age,
disability, sex, gender identity, religion, reprisal, and where applicable, political beliefs,
marital status, familial or parental status, sexual orientation, or all or part of an individual's
income is derived from any public assistance program, or protected genetic information in
employment or in any program or activity conducted or funded by the Department. (Not all
prohibited bases will apply to all programs and/or employment activities.)
If you wish to file a Civil Rights program complaint of discrimination, complete the USDA
Program
Discrimination
Complaint
Form,
found
online
at
http://www.ascr.usda.gov/complaint_filing_cust.html, or at any USDA office, or call (866)
632-9992 to request the form. You may also write a letter containing all of the information
requested in the form. Send your completed complaint form or letter to us by mail at U.S.
Department of Agriculture, Director, Office of Adjudication, 1400 Independence Avenue,
S.W., Washington, D.C. 20250-9410, by fax (202) 690-7442 or email at
[email protected].
Individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing or have speech disabilities and you wish to file
either an EEO or program complaint please contact USDA through the Federal Relay
Service at (800) 877-8339 or (800) 845-6136 (in Spanish).
USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer