SOLICITATION NOTICE
R -- LABORATORY ACCREDITATION
- Notice Date
- 7/16/2004
- Notice Type
- Solicitation Notice
- NAICS
- 541990
— All Other Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services
- Contracting Office
- Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service, Acquisitions and Agreements Section, 5601 Sunnyside Avenue, Mail drop 5230, Beltsville, MD, 20705
- ZIP Code
- 20705
- Solicitation Number
- Reference-Number-SC-LQAD-5-01
- Response Due
- 7/27/2004
- Archive Date
- 8/11/2004
- Point of Contact
- Karen Chapman, Contracting Officer, Phone 301-504-3992, Fax 301-504-4276,
- E-Mail Address
-
karen.chapman@fsis.usda.gov
- Description
- The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) intends to noncompetitively negotiate with American Association For Laboratory Accreditation (A2LA), 5301 Buckeystown Pike, Frederick, MD 21704, to provide laboratory accreditation services. The proposed contract period will include the base year, October 1, 2004 through September 30, 2005, with four one year option periods. The requirement is for the accreditation/certification of FSIS laboratories located in Athens, GA, St. Louis, MO, and Alameda, CA. The objectives are to assess each FSIS laboratory as follows: 1) is competent to perform specific tests; 2) maintains a quality system that addresses and conforms to all elements of ISO/IEC Standard 17025; 3) maintains the required documentation; 4) is operational. After completion of the assessment a written report of the assessor?s findings shall be submitted. Upon completion of a satisfactory assessment, the accrediting body shall provide a letter and certificates stating that the laboratory is in compliance with ISO/IEC Standard 17025 requirements as well as the Association of Analytical Communities (AOAC) International's "Accreditation Criteria for Laboratories Performing Food Microbiological and Chemical Analyses in Food, Feeds, and Pharmaceutical Testing" (ALACC). The American Association for Laboratory Accreditation (A2LA) is the sole assessment body possessing established cooperative arrangements with laboratory accreditation systems both internationally and in the United States. These arrangements facilitate the acceptance of test data between the A2LA-accredited laboratories and other countries, a critical element for FSIS laboratories regarding international equivalency and trade issues. These cooperative arrangements assure that FSIS laboratory data is recognized and accepted by these accrediting organizations and therefore the government in the countries that recognize the organization as an accrediting body. Examples of the cooperative arrangements include the Asia Pacific Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation, the European Cooperation for Accreditation, The Inter-American Accreditation Cooperation and National Cooperation for Laboratory Accreditation (NACLA). NACLA is a U.S. accreditation body. These cooperative arrangements insure that the signatories agree to recognize the technical equivalency of each other's accreditations and therefore the data for the laboratories that they accredit is considered equivalent. This is not a request for competitive quotations. The Government anticipates conducting this acquisition in accordance with FAR Part 12 Acquisition of Commercial Items and FAR Part 13 Simplified Acquisition Procedures authorized under the test program in Subpart 13.5. No solicitation is available for this requirement. Interested concerns may submit a capability statement within 10 days after the posted date of this notice. All timely responses will be considered, however, a determination by the Government not to compete this requirement based upon the responses received is solely within the discretion of the Government. Responses should be addressed to the attention of the Contracting Officer referencing number SC-LQAD-5-01.
- Record
- SN00625033-W 20040718/040716211639 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps.gov Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)
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