icix Announces Solutions to Help States Meet Healthy School Meal Standards

DENVER, July 16, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- icix (www.icix.com), a cloud-based collaborative commerce solution that enables suppliers and their customers to exchange mission-critical information in real time, today announced the launch of www.get6cents.com, which provides an overview of a highly configurable icix solution for states, school districts, and schools to use for validating the legally mandated improvements in school nutrition under the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act (HHFKA).

At a time when school foodservice directors are under more pressure than ever to provide healthy meals to students, icix is providing much-needed real time support in the areas of reimbursement, food safety and recalls, and professional standards and training.

"We have developed the industry's only configurable solution to help the education sector comply with this critical legislation that will drive significant improvement in the foods our kids eat every day," said Paul Touw, Chairman and CEO of icix. "The First Lady, USDA, and state and local officials across the country have and continue to work hard to provide better meals for children at this critical phase of their development.  icix looks forward to supporting their efforts with our cost-effective HHFKA solution that will be available by the compliance deadline of October 1, 2012."

Background

icix will provide in-depth tutorials of its solution at the School Nutrition Association Annual National Conference in Denver this week through Wednesday (7/16/12 - 7/18/12)  in Booth 2213. The icix solution includes full integration of all tools provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to the states, including spreadsheets and reporting templates.

Under the leadership of First Lady Michelle Obama, Congress passed and President Obama signed the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act into law in 2010.  A primary provision of the bill provides a 6-cent bonus to states for every healthy breakfast and lunch they serve.  Across the country, schools serve more than 12 million breakfasts and 32 million lunches each day.  The Act, and subsequent regulations issued by USDA, mandate significant improvements in the nutritional makeup of school meals.

The period to begin compiling menus started July 1, 2012. Formal implementation of the Act begins October 1, 2012 and continues on a phased schedule for a period of years.  In addition to a 6-cent bonus for every healthy meal, USDA will make $94 million available to the states in 2012 and 2013 for technical assistance in implementing the Act's requirements.

"The icix web-based software platform can be used by states, districts, and schools to track, manage, and report on their performance in meeting these requirements.  Key modules include:

• USDA Spreadsheet Integration
• Food Information
• Certification/Attestation Documents
• State Validation Reviews
• State Administrative Reviews
• State Reporting

Proven Solutions

icix has offered solutions for a range of issues covered by the Act for many years. Some of the nation's largest food distributors and retailers use icix solutions such as Product Recall, Product Specification, Product Test, Incidents, Compliance, and Product Certification to help ensure the health and safety of the nation's food supply. Millions of purchase orders per day are already checked for adherence to regulatory requirements on the icix network.

These existing and proven icix applications, as well as additional icix development of tools for parents, can help USDA and the states execute the following additional provisions in the Act:

• Recalls (Section 308)
• Tools for Parents (Section 209)
• Food Safety (Section 302)
• Professional Standards (Section 306)
• Food Programs (Section 331)

About icix

icix is an industry developed collaborative commerce network that enables organizations to interact and share mission critical information that codifies their relationships with their trading partners.  More than 20,000 businesses and 85,000 individual facilities actively connect on the icix business network, including 4 of the world's top 10 retailers, and 82 of the top 100 food suppliers.  icix members include Sysco, US Foods, Costco, ConAgra, Hanesbrands, Lowe's, and Walmart. Visit www.icix.com or call (877) 888-4249 for more information.

icix Contact:
Malcolm Hobbs
[email protected]
+1 650-395-7871

SOURCE icix