Laboratory Analysis of Retail Food Products in Sentinel Communities

Background C-EnterNet, the enteric surveillance program of the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) requires the services of a laboratory with food microbiological expertise. The primary task is to provide weekly analysis of raw meat samples. Tests include primary isolation followed by enumeration. Once identified, the bacterial isolates are to be forwarded within a month to secondary labs for additional testing. Scope of Work C-EnterNet is a surveillance program of the Public Health Agency of Canada. The primary objective of C-EnterNet is to provide information to integrate and strengthen the science, policy, intervention, prevention, and health promotion and protection activities related to both food and water safety in Canada. More precisely, it will deliver reliable annual estimates and trends over time for human cases, exposures, and source attribution, to inform future food and water safety policy development and provide capacity to local, provincial and federal public health authorities in the prevention of enteric diseases in Canada.

The Agri-food component of C-EnterNet has developed a retail food surveillance program that will provide baseline prevalence & enumeration data for foodborne enteric contamination (Campylobacter, Salmonella spp., generic E. coli, and Listeria monocytogenes,) on retail raw meat (chicken, pork and beef).

These results will then inform and support Canadian -specific risk assessment & policy development (through baseline data reports). These data will be integrated with water, on-farm and human data from the same geographic regions. Minimum Requirements M1. The bidder must provide evidence of current accreditation by the Standards Council of Canada (SCC) and conform with the requirements of CAN-P-1587 and CAN-P-4D(ISO/IEC 17025); M2. The bidder must provide evidence of current SCC accreditation for the following: • Listeria detection method: HPB-30; • generic E. coli detection method: MFHPB-34; • at least one method for the detection of Campylobacter; • at least one method for the detection of Salmonella; • MPN (Most Probable Number) enumeration in food for any three of the following four organisms. For the remaining one, the contractor must demonstrate the ability and proficiency in performing MPN enumeration in foods or environmental samples by providing method validation and quality assurance records; 1. Salmonella 2. Listeria 3. Yersinia 4. Campylobacter M3. a. The laboratory must demonstrate experience by providing at least one (1) project of surveillance activities within the past four (4) years in food microbiological testing including primary isolation and bacterial enumeration; b. The laboratory must demonstrate experience by providing at least one (1) project in research based activities within the past four (4) years food microbiological testing including primary isolation and bacterial enumeration. M4. The bidder must provide a description of their Quality Assurance and Quality Control system M5. The location of the contracting laboratory must be within driving distance (1.5 hours or less) of the primary sentinel site (Waterloo, Ontario) and the PHAC sub-typing laboratory (Guelph, Ontario) to reduce shipping costs for samples and isolates.

Selection Process The selection process is a one-stage competitive process wherein Proponents are invited to respond to this RFP and submit information relating to mandatory requirements, technical and price proposals. The proposals will be evaluated and scored as described within the RFP documents. Should Her Majesty elect to proceed with the project, the Proponent with the proposal ranked best value will be invited to enter into a contract for the required services. In case of discrepancies between this Notice and the Request for Proposals (RFP) documents, the RFP documents shall take precedence.

Note The Crown retains the right to negotiate with suppliers on any procurement. Documents may be submitted in either official language of Canada