Official UK procurement notice
Determination of levels of PFAS in (+ migrating from) Food Contact Materials FCM
Authority: Food Standards Agency (Central government)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionThis research project aims to develop analytical capabilities for measuring PFAS and to generate risk-assessment-ready data on PFAS occurrence in food packaging and other FCMs and their migration into food, enabling a better understanding of the extent to which these materials may contribute to PFAS detected in food relative to other sources of contamination. This information will help to reduce some of the current data gaps in the evidence base. This will therefore enable a more accurate assessment of the risk to human health as well as identify any issues to take through the FSA’s risk analysis process and support future policy requirements/decision making.
CPV: Laboratory services · Research and development services and related consultancy services · Research laboratory services · Research services
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · value publishedLot #1Lot 1RenewalPublished value£270,000
- Value
- £270,000 exc. VAT · £324,000 inc. VAT
- Extensions
The Authority may exercise an option to extend the contract for a period of up to 12 months beyond the initial contract term. Any extension will be on the same terms and conditions as the original contract unless otherwise agreed in accordance with the contract provisions. · The contract will have an initial term of approximately 26 months, commencing in January 2027 and ending in March 2029. The Authority reserves more…
the right to extend the contract by up to an additional 12 months at its sole discretion, subject to satisfactory performance, continued business need, and the availability of funding.
What it takes to wini
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 morei
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).
Published sub-criteria (2)
- Commercial Criterion — 20%
- Technical Criteria including Social Value — 80%
Published award criteria (2)
- Technical Criteria including Social Value — See the Specification and Tender Documents for full details. The technical evaluation criteria are divided into a number of sections and sub-criteria which assess the bidder's technical capability, methodology, experience, resources, and delivery approach. Social Value requirements are also included within the technical assessment and will be evaluated in accordance with the criteria set out in the procurement documents.
- Commercial Criterion — See the Specification and Tender Documents for full details. The Commercial evaluation criteria are divided into five sub-sections and will assess the bidder's pricing proposal and overall value for money in accordance with the published evaluation methodology.
- Economic & financial standing
Suppliers must meet the legal and financial standing requirements set out in the procurement documents and the Conditions of Participation (PSQ). Bidders may be required to provide information relating to their economic and financial standing, including more…
financial accounts or equivalent evidence, to demonstrate their capacity to perform the contract. - Technical & professional ability
Suppliers must demonstrate the technical and professional ability necessary to deliver the contract. This includes relevant experience, suitably qualified personnel, appropriate facilities and analytical capabilities, and the capacity to undertake the more…
research and laboratory activities described in the Specification. Full details of the technical requirements and evaluation criteria are set out in the procurement documents.
Competition analysis · published record, not a forecast of who will bid
How Food Standards Agency buys Research services (CPV 7311) — and who usually turns up
Food Standards Agency’s own published record, next to the Yorkshire and the Humber market for the same work. Frameworks and DPS are kept out: they attract a different number of bids. Whole-market view: Research services (CPV 7311) →
How the contest usually goes
Left: this authority. Right: the market where the work is delivered. Bids and award-vs-estimate pairs are per lot, from contested contracts only — direct awards (including PA 2023 transparency notices) report one bid by definition and are left out. On Procurement Act 2023 notices the count is the tenders assessed at the final stage, not every submission received; pairs compare like with like (VAT-exclusive, or VAT-inclusive on both sides). Empty means nothing was published, not filled in from elsewhere.
Food Standards Agency
contract notices in 36 months: 22 in CPV 7311 (1 without competition) · 54 in division 73 (1 without competition · 1 route not published) · 73 in all categories (3 without competition · 9 route not published)
i
How many companies usually bid for work like this.
Middle value of published bid counts, one per lot, for this buyer or this region in the same sector.
Based on this buyer’s tenders in this sector (CPV 7311), last 36 months: 8 lots. 3 lots are from Procurement Act 2023 notices (bids assessed, middle 1) and 5 from older notices (bids received, middle 1).
Nothing is filled in from UK-wide numbers. An empty tile means nothing usable was published.
i
How often only one company bid.
Share of lots that received exactly one bid, on the same competitions as the bids figure.
Based on this buyer’s tenders in this sector (CPV 7311), last 36 months: 8 lots.
High means a thin market or an incumbent that is hard to beat.
i
Do awards for work like this land above or below the estimate.
Estimate against award per lot, for this buyer or this region in the same sector.
Based on this buyer’s tenders in this sector (CPV 7311), last 36 months: 7 pairs.
A past pattern, not a price to bid.
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How long buyers here take to decide after bids close.
Middle value in days from the deadline to the first award notice, on competitions that published both dates.
Based on this buyer’s tenders in this sector (CPV 7311), last 36 months: 3 notices.
Only decided tenders count, so slow ones still waiting are not in.
i
How often this buyer changes a notice after publishing it.
Middle number of amendments per notice. Deadline extensions and corrections both count.
Based on this buyer’s tenders in all categories, last 24 months: 91 notices.
i
How often this buyer awards without a competition.
Direct or limited awards as a share of its notices that say which procedure was used. These routes are legal in defined cases. This is just the record.
Based on this buyer’s tenders in this sector (CPV 7311), last 36 months: 22 notices.
Yorkshire and the Humber · Research services (CPV 7311)
contract notices delivered in Yorkshire and the Humber in 36 months: 27 in CPV 7311 (20 competed) · 139 in division 73 (100 competed, 19 route not published) · the notice publishes no delivery location, so the authority’s registered region is used
i
How many companies usually bid for work like this.
Middle value of published bid counts, one per lot, for this buyer or this region in the same sector.
Based on this region’s tenders in this sector (CPV 7311), last 36 months: 10 lots. 9 lots are from Procurement Act 2023 notices (bids assessed, middle 5) and 1 from older notices (bids received, middle 5).
Nothing is filled in from UK-wide numbers. An empty tile means nothing usable was published.
i
How often only one company bid.
Share of lots that received exactly one bid, on the same competitions as the bids figure.
Based on this region’s tenders in this sector (CPV 7311), last 36 months: 10 lots.
High means a thin market or an incumbent that is hard to beat.
i
Do awards for work like this land above or below the estimate.
Estimate against award per lot, for this buyer or this region in the same sector.
Based on this region’s tenders in this sector (CPV 7311), last 36 months: 10 pairs.
A past pattern, not a price to bid.
i
How long buyers here take to decide after bids close.
Middle value in days from the deadline to the first award notice, on competitions that published both dates.
Based on this region’s tenders in this sector (CPV 7311), last 36 months: 8 notices.
Only decided tenders count, so slow ones still waiting are not in.
i
How much of this market goes to small and medium firms.
SME bidders where buyers published the split, otherwise SME winners.
Based on this region’s tenders in this sector (CPV 7311), last 36 months: 9 lots.
i
How much work like this goes to companies based in the delivery region.
Awards in this category delivered here where the winner’s registered address is in the region.
Based on this region’s tenders in this sector (CPV 7311), last 36 months: 17 awards.
Registered address, so a national firm with a local branch counts as outside.
i
Where this tender’s estimate would land if the usual pattern repeats.
We apply the buyer’s usual movement between estimate and award (or the region’s) to the estimate on this notice.
Based on this buyer’s own usual movement over 7 lots (CPV 7311), applied to the £270,000 estimate on this notice.
A benchmark, not a price to bid.
Who you are likely to meet i
Who you may be up against.
Suppliers on this buyer’s earlier similar contracts, and suppliers whose record fits this tender.
A guess from the record. Buyers do not publish who is bidding.
i
Who you may be up against.
Suppliers on this buyer’s earlier similar contracts, and suppliers whose record fits this tender.
A guess from the record. Buyers do not publish who is bidding.
Suppliers on this authority’s earlier similar contracts, then suppliers with a matching track record — from published award history, not a bid list
Already supplying a similar contract to Food Standards Agency i
Who holds similar work with this buyer now.
Winners of this buyer’s earlier contracts that match this tender by title, lot, buyer and category.
i
Who holds similar work with this buyer now.
Winners of this buyer’s earlier contracts that match this tender by title, lot, buyer and category.
| Supplier | Earlier contract | Lot | Award value | Match |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fera Science LtdPrior contract | Determination of background levels of PFAS in a variety of foods | Determination of background levels of PFAS in a variety of foods | £200k | 48% match |
Earlier contracts of this authority that the nightly matcher links to this notice by title, lot, buyer and CPV. Open the contract before treating anyone as the incumbent.
Suppliers with a similar track record — and how they price i
Suppliers with a similar track record, and how they price.
Suppliers matched on wins in this category, history with this buyer, location and size. Their award vs estimate is from their own past wins.
A guess from the record, not a bidder list.
i
Suppliers with a similar track record, and how they price.
Suppliers matched on wins in this category, history with this buyer, location and size. Their award vs estimate is from their own past wins.
A guess from the record, not a bidder list.
| Supplier | Evidence | Last award | Their award vs estimate | Relevance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Birmingham | 8 class wins · 4 lots for this buyer | this month | at estimate n=1 | 60% |
| QIB Extra Limited SME | 4 class wins | 1 months ago | no comparable pairs | 56% |
| Cogito Talent Ltd SME | 3 class wins | 14 months ago | no comparable pairs | 56% |
| Camrosh Limited SME | 1 class wins · 3 lots for this buyer | 1 months ago | 2% below n=2 | 56% |
Matched by the nightly worker on class wins, buyer history, delivery geography, scale and notice text; relevance is a 0–100% heuristic score, not a probability of bidding. “Their award vs estimate” is that supplier’s middle value on its own comparable single-supplier wins, CPV 7311 first. Nobody here is known to be bidding.
Coverage and what to read with care
- Each tile explains itself. The on a figure says what it is, how it is counted and which scope this notice’s own record came from (class, division, all categories, or the authority’s 24-month row). The two columns are never blended and nothing is filled from a UK-wide figure; an empty tile means the source published nothing usable. Long form: Methodology.
- Coverage. Roughly 40 % of notices publish a bid count; about half publish an ITL1 delivery location, so the market column reads the authority’s registered region when the notice has none (labelled). About 30 % of award-vs-estimate pairs are exact matches — the buyer published the award at the estimate. n is on every figure; a thin sample is muted, never hidden.
- “Match” and “relevance” are model scores from the nightly matcher, not published facts. Find a Tender does not publish who is bidding. Never shown: contact details, payment behaviour, or a recommended price.
What this replaces i
The earlier contract this tender most likely replaces.
Matched on title, category and buyer. The match percentage says how close the titles are.
40% title match.
A likely match, not a published link.
i
The earlier contract this tender most likely replaces.
Matched on title, category and buyer. The match percentage says how close the titles are.
40% title match.
A likely match, not a published link.
The prior contract this notice most likely re-tenders · matched by title and category (40% title match) — the holder is not guaranteed to re-bid
Determination of background levels of PFAS in a variety of foods — held by Fera Science Ltd; the published contract ends 31 Mar 2028.
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
- Open for tender
- Procurement threshold
- Above threshold (FTS publication)
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Yes (GPA)
- Recurring procurement
- No (one-off requirement)
- First published
- 21 Sept 2026, 16:43 BST
- Last source update
- 21 Sept 2026, 16:43 BST
- Award evaluation window
- Submission end — 18 Nov 2026, 23:59 GMT
- Authority reference
C467717- Latest notice
- Tender notice (UK4)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Not published
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-0776d5Find a Tender- Contract terms summary
Payment of valid and undisputed invoices will be made within 30 days of receipt of the invoice or, if later, the date by which the payment falls due in accordance with the invoice, which must be submitted promptly by the Supplier. All invoices must be sent, quoting a valid Purchase Order Number (PO Number) and any other relevant details including the minimum required information set out in Section 68(9) of the more…
Procurement Act 2023, to: fsa.payments. Within 10 Working Days of receipt of your countersigned copy of this Order Form, we will send you a unique PO Number. You must be in receipt of a valid PO Number before submitting an invoice. To avoid delay in payment it is important that the invoice is compliant and that it includes a valid PO Number, item number (if applicable) and the details (name, email, and telephone number) of your Buyer contact (i.e., Buyer Authorised Representative). Non-compliant invoices may be sent back to you, which may lead to a delay in payment.
- Risks
Risks associated with this research project may include delays in project delivery, changes in project scope or requirements, difficulties in obtaining representative food contact material samples, sample quality or availability issues, laboratory capacity constraints, analytical method development and validation more…
challenges, equipment failure, data quality concerns, stakeholder availability, and delays in the provision of information, materials or approvals. There is also a risk that analytical testing and research findings may not produce the anticipated outcomes, requiring further investigation, testing, or refinement of the proposed approach. Suppliers will be expected to identify, manage, monitor, and mitigate risks throughout the contract term to ensure the successful delivery of the agreed objectives, outputs, and timescales.
How to participate & submission route
Official notice Submit via Atamis legacy domain (health-family.force.com)- Expression of interest (EOI)
- —
- Tender submission deadline
- 19 Oct 2026, 12:00 BST
- Clarification deadline
- 5 Oct 2026, 12:00 BST
- Submission channel
- Official e-sourcing portal
- Electronic submission
- Allowed
- Accepted languages
- en
Timeline
5 published dates · Europe/London- Tender notice published6 days ago21 Sept 2026, 16:43 BST
- Clarification questions byin 8 days5 Oct 2026, 12:00 BST
- Submission deadlinein 22 days19 Oct 2026, 12:00 BST
- Award decision expected byin 53 days18 Nov 2026, 23:59 GMT
- Contract startsin 99 days4 Jan 2027, 00:00 GMT
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Nothing awarded yet- Awards (0)
- No award published
- Contracts (0)
- No contract published
- Bid statistics
- No aggregate bid statistics published
Notice history
1 event · 1 release on Find a Tender- Tender notice published21 Sept 2026, 16:43 BSTUK4
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Official documents & specifications (3)
Official links; attachments are not copiedTender pack and attachments
- Bidding documents and specifications Specification
- Conflict of interest declaration
Notices published for this procedure
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender