Developed for the SNP Primer
Cal Pro NET Center at San Jose State University
in conjunction with California Department of Education
February 2016
Menu Production Records
Menu Production Record (MPR)—is a working tool that is used to plan, control, and document food production. All schools participating in the school nutrition programs (SNP)
must keep MPRs for the meals they produce. These records must demonstrate how the meals meet Federal and state regulations.
MPRs and backup documentation must be available for the California Department of Education (CDE) to review during an Administrative Review, and kept for three years
plus the current year.
Step Task
Timeline
Resources
1
Understand the Purpose of MPRs in SNP—
For more information on MPRs refer to:
SNP Annual Training, Menu Planning Module 4
• The MPR fulfills four main purposes:
http://www.calpronet-sj.org/modules15_16/Module_4.pdf
 Planning: The MPR provides a means to plan for each day and for each
week to ensure that the correct quantities of food are planned to
For training on MPRs refer to:
meet the federal and state meal pattern requirements.
UC Davis Center for Nutrition in Schools, California Professional
 Communicating: Once a plan is in place, the MPR communicates to
Nutrition and Education Training (Cal-Pro-Net), Menu Production
staff what recipes or convenience products to order, use, and prepare
Records Webinar
and what portion size to serve.
http://cns.ucdavis.edu/resources/webinars/mpr.html
 Documenting: The MPR documents what was planned, what was
actually prepared and served, what was substituted and what was left
over. Federal regulations require Local Educational Agency (LEAs) to
keep complete and accurate MPRs that document how the meals
meet the meal pattern for the grade groups served.
 Tracking: The MPR provides valuable written history and can help spot
trends, evaluate what works best, and help decide changes needed.
2
Understand What Information is Required on MPRs—
For more information on required MPR information refer to: UC Davis
Center for Nutrition in Schools Cal-Pro-Net, Menu Production Records
• U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) requires MPRs to include the
Webinar and handouts
following information:
http://cns.ucdavis.edu/resources/webinars/mpr.html
 Date menu was served and site(s) where it was served
 Indication whether offer versus serve is in effect
 Specific recipes and/or food products including condiments, extras
 Grade groups of students served
 Serving sizes by grade group for both planned and served
 Total projected servings
 Amount of food used
 Actual number of servings prepared by grade group, adults and a la
carte
 Leftovers
• Optional information that LEAs might want to record on MPRs include
temperatures and production notes to staff.
3
Identify MPR Format—
CDE has developed several MPR forms that LEAs can use to document
required information on meals planned and served
• There is no required format that MPRs must follow.
http://www.cde.ca.gov/ls/nu/he/mnprodfrm.asp
• CDE has developed several different MPR forms that LEAs can use.
• LEAs can also use MPR forms developed by another state, develop their
own, or use one from the LEAs menu planning software program.
This institution is an equal opportunity provider.
Step
4
5
6
Task
LEAs should use the list of required information noted above when evaluating
MPR forms or developing an MPR for use.
Timeline
Enter Required General Information on the MPR—
• General information includes site name, date for the menu, and whether
offer versus serve is in effect.
• It is optional whether “breakfast” or “lunch” is indicated as it is usually
obvious.
Enter Required Menu, Food Items and Portion Size Information on the MPR—
• List each menu or food item, including condiments and extra foods.
• Individual food items must state specifically what form of the food item is
to be used. Examples of specific forms include fresh, raw, precooked,
canned in light syrup, or frozen fruits and vegetables, and whether it is
diced, sliced, whole or shredded.
• For menu items with a corresponding recipe, the form of the individual
food item is listed on the recipe and does not need to be listed on the MPR.
However, the recipe name or number must be listed on the MPR.
• Menu items that are processed convenience foods must have a brand and
code listed on the MPR.
• The grade group(s) served along with planned serving sizes must be listed. If
any serving sizes vary by grade group, there must be a separate line for
each different serving size by grade group.
• Portion or serving sizes should be listed in terms that are most familiar for
staff such as scoops, ladles or cup measurements.
Before
meal is
prepared/
served.
Determine Contribution to the Meal Pattern—
• The MPR documents how the menu items contribute to meeting the
grade group required food components and meal pattern for each day of
operation.
• Some menu items listed on the MPR will contribute to several food
components.
• Several standard menu planning tools are available to help determine the
creditable contribution of foods to the required food components:
 Food Buying Guide/Calculator—main tool for calculating the
contribution of individual foods, or foods in a standardized
recipe.
 Nutrition Facts label—tool used to help determine the weight of the
serving size, particularly for grains. Nutrition Facts labels also provide
information needed for calculating calories and target nutrient
information such as trans fats, saturated fat and sodium.
 Child Nutrition (CN) label— A statement that identifies the
contribution of a food product toward the meal pattern requirements,
based on the USDA’s evaluation of the products formulation. The
information does not need to be verified by the LEA.
Before
meal is
prepared/
served.
Before
meal is
prepared/
served.
Resources
UC Davis Center for Nutrition in Schools Cal-Pro-Net, Menu Production
Records Webinar includes information on different MPR formats
http://cns.ucdavis.edu/resources/webinars/mpr.html
For more details on documenting menu and food items as well as
portion size on the MPR refer to:
UC Davis Center for Nutrition in Schools Cal-Pro-Net Menu Production
Records Webinar
http://cns.ucdavis.edu/resources/webinars/mpr.html
UC Davis Successful Menu Planning Manual at:
http://cns.ucdavis.edu/content/training/smp_participant.pdf
Copies of the meal patterns for NSLP and SBP can be found at:
http://www.cde.ca.gov/ls/nu/he/smi.asp
National Food Service Management Institute (NFSMI) Basics at a
Glance resource provides information on portioning tools and is
located at:
http://www.nfsmi.org/documentlibraryfiles/PDF/20081006054447.pdf
For more information on the standard menu planning tools listed in
this section refer to:
School Nutrition Programs Annual Training, Menu Planning Module
http://www.calpronet-sj.org/modules15_16/Module_4.pdf
For more information and training on how to use the standard menu
planning tools to calculate the creditable contribution refer to:
UC Davis Center for Nutrition in Schools Cal-Pro-Net Menu Production
Records Webinar
http://cns.ucdavis.edu/resources/webinars/mpr.html
The Food Buying Guide can be located at:
http://www.fns.usda.gov/tn/food-buying-guide-school-meal-programs
National Food Service Management Institute (NFSMI) has a Food
Buying Guide Calculator available at: http://fbg.nfsmi.org/.
This institution is an equal opportunity provider.
Step
6
Cont.
7
8
9
Task
 Standardized Recipes—includes specific information such as
ingredients, weights and measures, preparation directions, serving
directions, yield, and portion size. Use a standardized recipe for every
menu item containing more than one ingredient in the preparation or
requires cooking. A standardized recipe has been carefully adapted
and tested to ensure that it will produce a consistent product
including the number of servings every time it is used.
 Product Formulation Statements (PFS)—written statement provided
by the manufacturer that provides information and quantity of each
ingredient that contributes to a food component. A PFS is needed
when a purchase product does not have a CN label and is not in the
Food Buying Guide. LEAs must check any calculations on the
manufacturer’s PFS to ensure their accuracy and to verify the
contribution to the meal pattern.
Project Number of Meals, Servings and Amount of Each Food to Prepare—
• Projected number of meals to be served should be entered by grade group
and for “other” meals such as adults, kitchen staff or a la carte sales.
• Projected servings must be noted for each menu item listed on the MPR.
• Use the Food Buying Guide/Calculator and the above mentioned standard
menu planning tools to calculate how much to prepare of each food item.
• If there are choices among the individual food component groups or if offer
versus serve is implemented, it is not necessary to project/prepare enough
of each menu item for each student to have a portion, but enough servings
must be planned to serve those who choose the particular menu item or a
substitution must be ready and available. Base the number of servings to
plan/prepare on historical data on the particular or similar item.
Documentation after the meal is served—
• Record the number of reimbursable meals served to students on the MPR.
For a salad bar, record the quantity of each item served on the bar
separately, not as a standardized recipe.
• Record leftovers and a notation on how the leftovers will be used or
discarded.
• Make sure to follow local and state environmental health regulations on
food safety.
Timeline
Resources
For more information on Standardized Recipes refer to:
UC Davis Center for Nutrition in Schools Cal-Pro-Net, Calculating the
Contribution to the Food Components: Recipes Webinar
http://cns.ucdavis.edu/resources/webinars/recipe.html
For more information on Product Formulation Statements (PFS) refer
to:
UC Davis Center for Nutrition in Schools Cal-Pro-Net, Verifying Product
Formulation Statements for Purchased Food Items Webinar
http://cns.ucdavis.edu/resources/webinars/pfs.html
USDA Guidance for Processed Products Documentation at:
http://www.fns.usda.gov/sites/default/files/cn/TA07-2010v3os.pdf
Before
the meal
is
prepared
and
served.
For more information on calculating how much food to prepare using
the Food Buying Guide and other menu planning tools refer to:
UC Davis Center for Nutrition in Schools Cal-Pro-Net Menu Production
Records Webinar
http://cns.ucdavis.edu/resources/webinars/mpr.html
After the
meal is
prepared
and
served.
Recordkeeping
• MPRs and supporting documentation must be kept for three years plus the
current year.
• Supporting documentation includes standardized recipes, nutrition facts
labels, PFS including verification calculations, CN labels.
This institution is an equal opportunity provider.