Published date: 23 August 2018
This notice was replaced on 29 January 2019
This notice does not contain the most up-to-date information about this procurement. The most recent notice is:
Awarded contract (published 29 January 2019, last edited 29 January 2019)
Closed opportunity - This means that the contract is currently closed. The buying department may be considering suppliers that have already applied, or no suitable offers were made.
Contract summary
Industry
Research and experimental development services - 73100000
Location of contract
North East, North West, Yorkshire and the Humber, East Midlands, West Midlands, East of England, London, South East, South West, Wales
Value of contract
£0
Procurement reference
tender_174605/698737
Published date
23 August 2018
Closing date
20 September 2018
Contract start date
15 October 2018
Contract end date
15 October 2019
Contract type
Service contract
Procedure type
Open procedure (below threshold)
Any interested supplier may submit a tender in response to an opportunity notice.
This procedure can be used for procurements below the relevant contract value threshold.
Contract is suitable for SMEs?
Yes
Contract is suitable for VCSEs?
No
Description
The purpose of this proposed research is to build on what has been developed so far to extend the use of real-time qPCR for both pork and horsemeat quantification in processed beef matrices e.g. cottage pie. The Authenticity Methods Working Group (AMWG) has highlighted this research need based on intelligence that meat substitution is still likely to be the most common manifestation of food fraud experienced by UK consumers, coupled with the cultural importance of diversifying methods to apply to pork testing. [The research will not further develop research on digital PCR due to cost and lack of dPCR capabilities in Public Analysts laboratories.]
The aim of this research is to support food labelling verification in order to maintain consumer confidence in meat sold in the UK. This will be delivered by optimising and road-testing the analytical methods evaluated in previous Defra project FA0157 to guarantee they are fit for purpose for uptake and routine analysis on raw and processed beef products by all official food control laboratories.The horse-specific qPCR assay has been previously fully validated for its application on raw beef. Further validation work is therefore focussed on its application to processed beef products in this research. The pork-specific qPCR assay is at a much earlier stage of development, and requires validation on its application to both raw beef and processed beef products in this research.
Intra- and inter-laboratory trialling to road test the methods will verify their 'fitness for purpose' to support food law enforcement and provide an assessment of method performance and analytical confidence. Best practice scientific information on the methods will also be produced to support uptake by Public Analysts.
The outputs from this work will help support Defra business plan commitments in relation to honesty in labelling, ensuring consumer confidence in the integrity of the food supply chain, and enhancing food chain resilience. Maintaining authenticity and integrity of British meat supports the Defra strategic objective of ensuring that British food is the brand of choice both at home and abroad.
More information
Additional text
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About the buyer
Contact name
Defra Group Commercial
Address
DEFRA
London
SW1P 3JR
England
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