Find a TenderAwardedContract details notice

Published 2 Oct 2025, 17:34 BST

Official UK procurement notice

Sampling and testing of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli in waterways

Official notice

Authority: Food Standards Agency (Central government)

ServicesOpen procedureAbove thresholdSME suitableVCSE suitable

Sectors: Research & Development (R&D) (73) Delivery: UK

Published estimate£300,000≈ £225k / year · £360,000 inc. VAT11.7% below published estimate

Submissions closed 4 Nov 2025awarded 12 Dec 2025

Awarded to 20/30 LABS LIMITED

Contract term 1 yr 4 moends 30 Apr 2027 · starts 1 Jan 2026

What is being bought

Published requirement description

The Food Standards Agency has awarded a contract for sampling and testing of shiga toxin-producing e-coli (STEC) in waterways.

The purpose of the work described here is to characterise the diversity of STEC strains present in the environment nearby areas used for farming different livestock species, by sampling and testing nearby waterways. By establishing a better “fingerprint” of STEC strains typically associated with livestock farm types, we can attribute the proportion of human STEC cases to different livestock species which will help to understand sources and pathways of contamination of secondary food types such as salad crops. Understanding what proportion of human cases of STEC are attributable to different livestock farm types may also help growers take a proportionate risk management approach to protecting consumers.

No preliminary market engagement: No market engagement has been carried out.

CPV: Research and development consultancy services · Research and development services and related consultancy services · Research laboratory services · Research services

The lotProcurement structure

single lot · value published

Lot #1Awarded 1 yr 4 moSMEVCSEPublished value£300,000

Contract period: 1 Jan 2026 – 30 Apr 2027 (1 yr 4 mo)Value: £300,000 exc. VAT · £360,000 inc. VAT

Delivery: UKEligibility: SME eligibleVCSE eligible

73000000 Research and development services and related consultancy services 73110000 Research services 73111000 Research laboratory services 73200000 Research and development consultancy services

Pre-qualification & selection criteria (PQQ)2

Economic & financial standing
None
Technical & professional ability
None

What it takes to win
i
How this buyer will score bids.
The evaluation criteria and weights exactly as published on the notice, grouped by family (price, quality, social value and so on).

Evaluation split and conditions of participation as published; the tender pack may add more

How bids were scored

Quality: 80%Price: 20%

Published sub-criteria (2)

Technical Envelope: 80%
Financial Envelope: 20%

Published award criteria (2)

Technical Envelope: 80% Technical Envelope
Financial Envelope: 20% Financial Envelope

Conditions of participation2

Economic & financial standing
None
Technical & professional ability
None

What this means for your bid

Price carries 20 of 100 points: a 10% discount moves about 2 points. The method statement decides this lot, not the discount.

Price arithmetic assumes straight proportional scoring; the tender pack may use another formula.

Procedure terms & legal framework

From the official record

Procedure method: Open procedure
Legal basis: UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
Procurement category: Services
Notice status: Awarded
Procurement threshold: Above threshold (FTS publication)
Regulatory regime: Standard
Commercial structure: Stand-alone contract (no framework)
Competition type: Competitive procedure
GPA / WTO covered: Unspecified in notice
Recurring procurement: Unspecified in notice
First published: 2 Oct 2025, 17:34 BST
Last source update: 18 Feb 2026, 16:18 GMT
Award evaluation window: Submission end – 22 Dec 2025
Authority reference: C391032
FTS notice number: 2025/S 000-061924
Latest notice: Contract details notice (UK7)
Classification (CPV): Research and development consultancy servicesResearch and development services and related consultancy servicesResearch laboratory servicesResearch services
Delivery area: UK
Official registry OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-05a75a Find a Tender

Review and risk notes

Risks: Risks associated with a science project of this nature including time delays, budgetary impacts, scope, sampling plan etc.

How it was run

Official notice

Run through: Atamis legacy domain (health-family.force.com) · Who buys & how to bid on Atamis

Supplier login requiredElectronic submission allowedLanguage: EN

Access & registration note: Legacy Salesforce domain still used in notices — use the current Atamis portal · this portal address is a legacy domain; the operator has migrated

Submission deadline: 4 Nov 2025, 12:00 GMT
Clarification deadline: 16 Oct 2025, 12:00 BST
Submission channel: Official e-sourcing portal
Electronic submission: Allowed
Accepted languages: en

Detailed submission instructions & authority contactsFrom official release

Tenders for FSA funded projects must be submitted through the health-family single e-Commercial System (Atamis), using the following link: health-family.force.com/s/Welcome ↗.

Timeline

2 Oct 2025 → 18 Feb 2026 · 8 dates

Tender notice published379 days ago
2 Oct 2025, 17:34 BST
Clarification questions by365 days ago
16 Oct 2025, 12:00 BST
Submission deadline346 days ago
4 Nov 2025, 12:00 GMT
Assessment summaries sent308 days ago
12 Dec 2025
Award decision expected by297 days ago
22 Dec 2025, 23:59 GMT
Standstill ends296 days ago
23 Dec 2025, 23:59 GMT
Contract starts288 days ago
1 Jan 2026
Latest notice published240 days ago
18 Feb 2026, 16:18 GMT

Notice history

5 events · 3 releases on Find a Tender · since 2 Oct 2025

Tender notice published
2 Oct 2025, 17:34 BST
UK4
Contract award notice published
12 Dec 2025, 13:12 GMT
UK6
Status changed to complete
12 Dec 2025, 13:12 GMT
Contract signature expected
9 Jan 2026, 23:59 GMT
scheduled
Contract details notice published
18 Feb 2026, 16:18 GMT
UK7

Commercial outcome & contract awards

Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast

Awards 1

Awarded value £265,0171 award exc. VAT

Bids received 31 from SMEs

Contracts signed 1latest 16 Feb 2026

Awarded to	Value	Date	Status
20/30 LABS LIMITEDSMEC407408 Sampling and testing of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli in waterways12 Jan 2026 – 30 Apr 2027	£265,017	12 Dec 2025	Awarded

Contracts

C407408 Sampling and testing of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli in waterways · 20/30 LABS LIMITEDSME
Signed
16 Feb 2026
Value
£265,017
Period
16 Feb 2026 – 31 May 2027 · up to 31 Aug 2027 with extensions
Status
active
Extensions
3 month term only extension
2 agreed KPIs: Deliverables carried out on time · Invoicing carried out as per completion of Deliverables and Schedule of Payments
- Deliverables carried out on time, Performance Measure: at least 98% at all times
- Invoicing carried out as per completion of Deliverables and Schedule of Payments, Performance Measure: at least 98% at all times

Bid statistics published by the authority

Bids	SME	VCSE	Valid bid range
3final-stage tenders	1	1	—

Contracting authority & participating public bodies

Food Standards Agency

Contracting authorityPublic authority - central government GB-PPON: PJRM-6866-LYYX YO1 7PR, York, Yorkshire & Humber, YO1 7PRContact name, email, phone

Bidders & participating suppliers

1 commercial party on the notice

20/30 Labs LtdAwarded supplierGB-PPON: PQNX-9288-CCWJ Unit 6 Osyth Close, Northampton, East Midlands, NN4 7DYContact email

Official documents & specifications (3)

Official links; attachments are not copied

Notices published for this procedure

Contract details notice contractContract details noticeUK7Contract details notice on Find a Tender18 Feb 2026, 16:18 GMT
Contract award notice awardContract award noticeUK6Contract award notice on Find a Tender12 Dec 2025, 13:12 GMT
Tender notice tenderTender noticeUK4Tender notice on Find a Tender2 Oct 2025, 17:34 BST