SOLICITATION NOTICE
B -- Molecular Species Identification, Throughput Capability and Technology Transfer for Catfish Entering Retail Markets in the United States
- Notice Date
- 9/15/2010
- Notice Type
- Presolicitation
- NAICS
- 541380
— Testing Laboratories
- Contracting Office
- Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service, Procurement Management Branch, 5601 Sunnyside Avenue, Mail drop 5230, Beltsville, Maryland, 20705
- ZIP Code
- 20705
- Solicitation Number
- AG-3A94-S-10-0111
- Archive Date
- 10/2/2010
- Point of Contact
- Vangelia Campbell,
- E-Mail Address
-
vangelia.campbell@fsis.usda.gov
(vangelia.campbell@fsis.usda.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Food Safety and Inspection Services (FSIS) plans to issue a Request for Proposal RFP (Solicitation No. AG-3A94-S-10-0111) which will provide the agency with Molecular Species Identification, Throughput Capability and Technology Transfer for Catfish Entering Retail Markets in the United States. The Contractor shall; 1) Provide molecular techniques to positively identify relevant domestic and imported strains of catfish; 2) Provide technology transfer of methodologies and relevant information to FSIS as needed to perform species identification using DNA barcoding. The Contractor shall develop and implement a protocol, and analyze data using DNA sequencing equipment with a throughput of up to 2,000 samples per month for a 12 month timeframe. Imported fish fillets identified as catfish account for approximately half of the 200 million pounds of U.S. catfish sales each year. The Contractor shall provide positive identification of these fillets needed to differentiate between species and to detect mislabeling. The Contractor shall direct sequencing in the most definitive method available for fish identification. Unlike protein assays, it is applicable to degraded/processed samples. An approximately 600 base-pair region of the cytochrome c oxidase I (COI) mitochondrial gene will be PCR amplified and sequenced in all relevant cultured domestic and imported strains of catfish from samples of muscle tissue taken from fresh, frozen, and processed fish. The Contractor shall provide an internal reference database of COI sequences and should be further developed and checked against the larger Barcode of Life database1 (BOLD). FDA catfish barcodes shall formalize DNA barcode sequences for species of interest. The Contractor shall standardized, streamlined protocols and also should be developed to allow rapid processing and analysis of large numbers of samples as provided by FSIS. The Contractor will provide Real-time PCR/SNP assays which should be developed for short-turnaround true/false testing of samples. Sequence results, species IDs, and samples should be tracked via unique, anonymous identifiers and information should be made rapidly and securely available to FSIS. Rigorous quality control and random re-screening of samples should ensure the highest possible levels of accuracy. Methods validation must follow FDA‘s July, 2009 Laboratory Information Bulletin 4420, volume 24, titled:"DNA-Barcoding for the Species Identification for Fish: A Protocol for Validation of DNA-Barcoding for the Species Identification of Fish for FDA Regulatory Compliance." The lab must be well-equipped with sufficient PCR (both standard and real-time) and DNA sequencing capacity to produce high-throughput catfish gene sequencing and data analysis without start-up delay. At the end of the project term, technology transfer (including equipment assessment) will occur for FSIS to outfit their labs to continue to perform genotyping and data analysis. This procurement is being conducted as a Commercial Item acquisition under FAR Part 12. Offerors will be required to submit a technical and price proposal for evaluation by the Government. It is anticipated that a single award Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract will be awarded. The Period of Performance (PoP) will be for one 1-year base period and four 1-year option periods. Award will be made to the offeror who submits the proposal consided most advantageous to the Government considering price and technical evaluation factors. The award will contain provisions for issuance of firm-fixed price task orders. All qualified responsible sources may submit an offer which shall be considered by the agency. The offers must conform to the RFP insturctions and be received by the closing date specified in the RFP. The anticipated release date of the RFP is on or about September 17, 2010. The firm date for receipt of offers will be stated in the RFP. Oral communications are not acceptable in response to this notice. Questions may be submitted by email to Vangelia.Campbell@fsis.usda.gov or by mail to Vangelia Campbell at USDA, FSIS, ASD, 5601 Sunnyside Avenue, Maildrop 5230, Beltsville, MD 20705-5230. The RFP will be issued electronically and will be available at this website. It is the offeror's responsibility to monitor this site for the release of the solicitation and amendments (if any). The FAR Clause 52.232-18, Avaliability of Fund, applies to this synopsis. The anticipated award date is September 29, 2010
- Web Link
-
FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/spg/USDA/FSIS/AAS/AG-3A94-S-10-0111/listing.html)
- Place of Performance
- Address: United States, United States
- Record
- SN02282960-W 20100917/100916000047-def2a0fa7d8ae0c1e0a2f3d8bc5696bc (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)
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