Production Records in School Meals Webinar Questions and Answers - Implementation of the New Production Record Template

Sep 17, 2026

A set of webinar Q&A addressing how school food authorities should implement the updated production record template for school meals. It explains where to obtain the new PDE template, whether existing production record sheets must be redone, and acceptable alternatives such as PrimeroEdge, NutriKids, and POS systems. Guidance covers documentation requirements, component contribution recording, milk inclusion rules, and flexibility in formatting while ensuring compliance with meal pattern crediting through accompanying standardized recipes and reports.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryForms

FormatPDF

Pages7

Reading Time3 min

AccessFree to download

Implementation of the New Production Record Template

Template access and update timing

Acceptable alternative systems and reporting

Documentation requirements and compliance

Component contributions and milk requirements

Production Records in School Meals Webinar Questions and Answers Implementation of the New Production Record Template Q1 : Where do we obtain the new PDE production record template? Can we get it from PEARS? A: Yes. The template is available on PEARS, Download Forms, PDE013 . Q2: May we continue to use our existing production record sheets or must we implement the new sheets? A: Sponsors should begin using the updated template as soon as practicable in your operation. PDE has removed the old template from PEARS, so only the updated version is available moving forward. You may also use your own production record, provided that you include the necessary information. Q3: If a sponsor has completed the production records for the 2015-2016 school year, must they be redone with the new format? A: Production records that a school food authority (SFA) has already printed out for upcoming meals may be used; however, PDE expects that SFAs using the old version will begin utilizing the updated template as soon as practicable (such as the next time the SFA prints another set of production records for use) . Q4: Are production sheets from PrimeroEdge acceptable? A: Yes. The PrimeroEdge production records are acceptable and PDE encourages SFAs to utilize them as an alternative to the paper template. Q5: If we have our cycle menus in PrimeroEdge must we still use the new (paper) production record? A: Production records are required documentation. SFAs have the option of using the PrimeroEdge production record, PDE’s new paper template, or their own production record that contains all of the necessary information. Q6: I print the production records via NutriKids menu planning software, and my staff fills them in daily to record production data. This data appears to be even more detailed than the new template you introduced in the webinar. Is this acceptable or is the new form still required? A: You may continue using your current system if it captures the same (or more detailed) information as PDE’s production record template. Q7: Schools using point of service (POS) systems are able to print reports that have all the information that is needed for production records. Considering this, why is it necessary to transcribe this information in a paper form? Why can we not simply save our reports which include this information? Moving this information onto paper takes many hours over a month. A: If your POS system is part of a USDA-approved, menu-planning software system, and it November 2015 1 includes production records with all of the necessary information, then you may use those production records. In addition, you may print and attach appropriate reports from your POS to your paper-based production record as an alternative to writing in the information. It is not necessary to transcribe duplicate information. For example: If your POS generates a report of the number of reimbursable and non-reimbursable meals sold during the meal service, you can attach that report instead of writing those numbers directly on the production record. Production Record Format Q8: Why is it necessary to note the contributions of each item when using PrimeroEdge, considering that our cooks refer to the recipes for production and the recipes already include this information? A9: PrimeroEdge’s production records already include the component contributions for menu items. If you are using PrimeroEdge’s production records, then you do not also have to use PDE’s paper version. SFAs are encouraged to use PrimeroEdge for their production records for greater efficiency. SFAs utilizing PDE’s paper template have the option to omit component contributions on the production record, or even choose to remove that section on their local production record, provided that the component contributions are found within accompanying standardized recipes, reports, etc. The paper template on PEARS is an editable spreadsheet, giving SFAs flexibility

FAQs

Where can sponsors obtain the new PDE production record template?

Sponsors can download the template from PEARS under Download Forms (PDE013).

Is it required to redo production records already completed for 2015–2016?

If a school food authority has already printed production records for upcoming meals, those may be used; however, PDE expects SFAs using the old version to switch to the updated template as soon as practicable (e.g., the next time records are printed).

What are the acceptable options for documenting production records besides the new paper template?

SFAs may use PrimeroEdge production records or their own production record, as long as all necessary information is captured. If the POS system is USDA-approved and includes the required production-record information, SFAs may use those production records and attach appropriate POS reports instead of transcribing duplicate data.

Sep 17, 2026

Upload by Emma Wilson