Official UK procurement notice
Additional Analytical Methods for NDNS Biomonitoring
Authority: Food Standards Agency (Central government)
What is being bought3 lots · detail below
Published requirement descriptionTenders were invited to undertake a research project to identify suitable biomarkers of priority (groups of) Chemical Contaminants (Lot 1) and Food Additives (Lot 2), Metals (Lot 3) and develop and validate analytical chemistry methods for their quantitative measurement in human urine. In addition, an approach for estimating systemic exposure and theoretical dietary intake of each chemical of interest, from measured urinary excretion of the biomarker(s), should be derived.
The FSA requested that methods and approaches are determined, and proven for feasibility, for substances from the following food additive and other chemical contaminant groups, below or up to the estimated budget of £100,000 (exc. VAT) Lot 1 and £50,000 (exc VAT) each for lot 2 and 3. The substance groups have been prioritised in accordance with the FSA’s food safety remit and specific priorities.
All documents and communication for FSA funded projects were submitted through the health-family single e-Commercial System (Atamis), using the following link: health-family.force.com/s/Welcome ↗
Chemical Contaminants (Lot 1) - Awarded
Food Additives (Lot 2) - Not awarded, failed procurement
Metals (Lot 3) - Not awarded, failed procurement.
CPV: Research and development consultancy services · Research and development services and related consultancy services · Research services
Lots and requirements (3)Procurement structure
3 lots · all with a published value (£200,000 together) · a supplier may bid for at most 1 and win at most 1 of them · same conditions of participation on every lot · same evaluation weights on every lotLot #1Food AdditivesAwardedRenewalPublished value£100,000
The source published no individual description for this lot.
- Economic & financial standing
See PSQ
- Technical & professional ability
See PSQ
Lot #2Chemical ContaminantsAwardedRenewalPublished value£50,000
The source published no individual description for this lot.
- Economic & financial standing
See PSQ
- Technical & professional ability
See PSQ
Lot #3MetalsAwardedRenewalPublished value£50,000
The source published no individual description for this lot.
- Economic & financial standing
See PSQ
- Technical & professional ability
See PSQ
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: 20%
- Technical inc Social Value: 80%
Published award criteria (2)
- Commercial: See specification for more details. The Commercial section is split into 5 sub-sections
- Technical inc Social Value: See Specification for more details. The technical criteria is broken down into sections.
- Economic & financial standing
See PSQ
- Technical & professional ability
See PSQ
- 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
- Yes (GPA)
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 2 Jun 2026, 18:56 BST
- Last source update
- 6 Oct 2026, 09:06 BST
- Award evaluation window
- Submission end – 7 Sept 2026
- Authority reference
C451198- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-063325- Latest notice
- Contract details notice (UK7)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Not published
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-06abecFind 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 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 a scientific services project of this nature may include (but not limited to) delays in project delivery, budgetary pressures, changes in scope or requirements, difficulties in obtaining representative samples, sampling plan amendments, sample quality or availability issues, laboratory capacity constraints, analytical method development and validation challenges, equipment failure, data quality concerns, regulatory or legislative changes, stakeholder availability, and delays in the provision of information, materials or approvals. There is also a risk that research findings or analytical results may not generate the expected outcomes, requiring additional investigation, testing, or revisions to the proposed approach. Suppliers will be expected to identify, manage and mitigate such risks throughout the contract lifecycle to ensure delivery of the agreed objectives, timelines and outputs.
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- 17 Aug 2026, 12:00 BST
- Clarification deadline
- 27 Jul 2026, 12:00 BST
- Submission channel
- Official e-sourcing portal
- Electronic submission
- Allowed
- Accepted languages
- en
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 Jun 2026 → 6 Oct 2026 · 10 dates- Planning notice published136 days ago2 Jun 2026, 18:56 BST
- Market engagement122 days ago15 Jun 2026, 23:59 BST
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) is undertaking pre-market engagement to inform a potential future procurement for the development and validation of analytical methods to support biomonitoring of food additives and chemical contaminants.
This engagement seeks to:
Test the feasibility of identifying and quantifying suitable urinary biomarkers for priority additive and contaminant groups
Understand market capability and capacity to deliver analytical method development and validation within the proposed timeframes and budget
Gather insight into available methodologies (e.g. LC-MS, GC-MS, ICP-MS) and approaches to biomarker identification, including limitations and innovation opportunities
Inform the future procurement strategy, including lot structure, specification design, achievable scope, and value for money considerations
Suppliers are invited to provide feedback on the proposed scope, including:
Feasibility of delivering the requirements within ~10 months per lot
The number and type of substances that could realistically be covered within the indicative budget
Approaches to biomarker selection, ADME evaluation, and method validation
Any risks, constraints, or dependencies that should be considered
The information gathered will be used solely to shape the FSA’s understanding of the market and to refine a potential future competitive procurement. Participation is voluntary, and non-participation will not disadvantage suppliers in any subsequent procurement process.
All documents and communication 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 ↗
- Next notice expected107 days ago30 Jun 2026, 23:59 BST
- Tender notice published102 days ago6 Jul 2026, 16:17 BST
- Clarification questions by81 days ago27 Jul 2026, 12:00 BST
- Submission deadline60 days ago17 Aug 2026, 12:00 BST
- Award decision expected by38 days ago7 Sept 2026, 23:59 BST
- Assessment summaries sent37 days ago9 Sept 2026, 00:00 BST
- Contract starts15 days ago1 Oct 2026, 00:00 BST
- Latest notice published10 days ago6 Oct 2026, 09:06 BST
Notice history
9 events · 4 releases on Find a Tender · since 2 Jun 2026- Preliminary market engagement notice published2 Jun 2026, 18:56 BSTUK2
- Tender notice published6 Jul 2026, 16:17 BSTUK4
- Status changed to active6 Jul 2026, 16:17 BST
- Procurement method changed6 Jul 2026, 16:17 BST
- Deadline published: 17 Aug 2026, 12:00 BST6 Jul 2026, 16:17 BST
- Contract award notice published9 Sept 2026, 16:39 BSTUK6
- Status changed to complete9 Sept 2026, 16:39 BST
- Contract signature expected22 Sept 2026, 23:59 BSTscheduled
- Contract details notice published6 Oct 2026, 09:06 BSTUK7
Routine re-releases (4)
- 2026-06: 1 release · 2 Jun 2026
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast| Awarded to | Value | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lot 1 · Food Additives1 award | |||
| supplier not published | — | 4 Sept 2026 | Awarded |
| Lot 2 · Chemical Contaminants2 awards | |||
| University of AberdeenMethods of an analytical method for NDNS biomonitoring of mycotoxins (lot 1)1 Oct 2026 – 30 Jul 2027 · up to 30 Oct 2027Extensions: 3 Month optional extension | £129,931 | 4 Sept 2026 | Awarded |
| University of Aberdeen | — | — | Awarded |
| Lot 3 · Metals1 award | |||
| supplier not published | — | 4 Sept 2026 | Awarded |
Contracts
Methods of analysis for additional NDNS biomonitoring Lot 1 : Chemical Contaminants · University of Aberdeen
- Signed
- 29 Sept 2026
- Value
- £129,931
- Period
- 1 Oct 2026 – 30 Jul 2027 · up to 30 Oct 2027 with extensions
- Status
- active
- Extensions
- The Buyer may extend the Contract for a period of up to 3 months by giving not less than 10 Working Days' notice in writing to the Supplier prior to the Expiry Date. The Conditions of the Contract shall apply throughout any such extended period.
No agreed KPIs: Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) have not been included within this contract as the awarded lot is of low value and is being managed under the Food Standards Agency's Short Form Contract. The nature, value and risk profile of the requirement do not warrant the establishment of formal KPIs. Contract performance will be monitored through routine contract management arrangements, including oversight of the supplier's delivery against the specification and contractual obligations.
Bid statistics published by the authority
| Lot | Bids | SME | VCSE | Valid bid range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 · Chemical Contaminants | 1final-stage tenders | 0 | 0 | — |
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Bidders & participating suppliers
1 commercial party on the notice- University of AberdeenAwarded supplier
Official documents & specifications (6)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Contract details notice Contract details notice on Find a Tender
- Contract award notice Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- Contract award notice Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- Contract award notice Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender