ALP Check Sample Preparation Services
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), Accredited Laboratory Program (ALP) is seeking businesses capable of producing, shipping, and maintaining an inventory of food chemistry (moisture, protein, fat, and salt) proficiency testing (PT) samples. FSIS regulated meat and poultry are the matrices used for creating, shipping, and maintaining an inventory of ALP PT samples. The production, shipping, and sample maintenance must be performed in accordance with International Organization for Standardization and the International Electrotechnical Commission (ISO/IEC) Standard 17043. Contractors must demonstrate the ability to handle sample production volumes ranging from 70 to 100 PT samples for events that occur on a bi-monthly basis. The PT sample events may include more than one meat or poultry type (typically one or two matrices). The Contractor must have the ability to produce samples that are approximately 100 to 150 grams in mass that are homogeneous. The samples must be packaged and stored in a manner that maintains the integrity of the sample. Extra samples are produced with each event to supply replacement samples and to be used as an inventory of reference materials. The Contractor must have enough freezer storage space to maintain an organized inventory of approximately three-years of surplus samples (approximately 500 to 600 samples) at approximately -20○C. The Contractor must have the ability to package samples quickly to maintain the integrity of the sample and to ship samples overnight. Each PT event has approximately 40 - 50 participants. The Contractor must also ship these samples as reference materials as requested on an as-needed frequency. Sample qualification sets are also produced that are similar to the PT samples. These sets contain up to 36 different meat or poultry matrices with approximately 15 to 25 sets produced at a time (usually once a year). The Contractor must have enough freezer storage space to maintain an organized inventory of approximately three-years of qualification sets (approximately 360 to 1000 samples) at approximately -20○C. The Contractor must ship these samples as reference materials as requested on an as-needed frequency usually to one or two laboratories at a time and approximately 15 times a year. The Contractor must also perform chemical analyses on one qualification set in triplicate for food chemistry to characterize the samples. The analyses must be performed according to the FSIS ALP methods and requirements. The laboratory that characterizes the samples must be able to pass the ALP requirements for a qualification set and therefore must be an ALP certified laboratory in good standing. The Contractor must maintain a detailed inventory of samples that is kept current. The inventory must be provided to the ALP upon request. The Contractor's facility must be secure for maintaining confidentiality and for maintaining the integrity of the samples. No subcontracting will be allowed for sample production. If chemical analyses are subcontracted, the laboratory must be an ALP certified laboratory in good standing in the program.
Methods
Qualification set characterizations must be performed in accordance with the Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) methods for moisture, protein, fat, and salt or corresponding AOAC methods that are specific for meat and poultry products. The FSIS methods are found on the FSIS website. AOAC methods may be purchased from this organization or accessed from their website by members.
ALP requirements
ALP requirements are available upon request from ALP@fsis.usda.gov. General requirements are found on the ALP website.
If you are a business capable of providing this service, please respond with your company's information, which should include a capability statement, past experience with the production and analysis of the meat and poultry products (for moisture, protein, fat, and salt), a copy of any relevant certifications, a description of lab (s), facilities, personnel, estimated pricing by sample*, and any additional information relevant to provide a comprehensive response.
*Please provide estimated pricing by sample type (PT and Qualification Sample) and include all costs plus profit on this basis. Please exclude the cost purchasing the meat or poultry and shipping costs in the estimate as these costs will be handled separately.
THIS IS A REQUEST FOR SOURCES SOUGHT. This Sources Sought request is issued solely for information and planning purposes - it does not constitute a Request for Proposal (RFP) or a promise to issue an RFP in the future. This request for information does not commit the Government to contract for any supply or service whatsoever. Respondees are advised that USDA, FSIS, will not pay for any information or administrative costs incurred in response to this RFI; all costs associated with responding to this RFI will be solely at the interested party's expense. Responses should be limited to 1-3 pages. Respondents will not be notified of the results of the evaluation of the information received Responses should be submitted by 3pm January 27, 2017. Please e-mail responses to kim.toppin@fsis.usda.gov. ; Faxed responses are not permitted. Questions concerning this announcement may be submitted via email by contacting the Contracting Officer at kim.toppin@fsis.usda.gov.
Kim R. Toppin, Contracting Officer , Phone 301-504-4266, Fax 301-504-4276, Email kim.toppin@fsis.usda.gov - Donna M Hardy, Team Leader , Phone 301-504-2010, Fax 301-504-4276, Email donna.hardy@fsis.usda.gov
