Inactive

This is Sources Sought Notice. This is NOT a solicitation for proposals or quotes and does not obligate the Government to award a contract. This notice is for informational and planning purposes only ... This is Sources Sought Notice. This is NOT a solicitation for proposals or quotes and does not obligate the Government to award a contract. This notice is for informational and planning purposes only and shall not be construed as a solicitation or an obligation or commitment by the Government, nor is it a Request for Proposal (RFQ) at this time. Responses to this Notice must be in writing. The purpose of this Sources Sought Notice is to conduct market research to identify contractors who are capable able to provide Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) sample collections for USDA APHIS VS. Responses to this notice shall include the following: (a) company name; (b) address; (c) point of contact; (d) phone, fax and email; (e ) Unique Entity Identifier (UEI); (f) Cage Code; (g) socioeconomic category (i.e., small business, Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business, Veteran Owned Small Business, etc.); (h) a technical/capability statement which includes list of U.S. States for which they have access to targeted cattle population samples and a list of targeted plants they have access to USDA APHIS will accept responses from ALL socioeconomic/business categories in order to gain a more complete understanding of the market for this service.The NAICS Code for the expected acquisition is 561990 - All Other Support Services. Farms, slaughter plants, rendering plants, or any relating business are encouraged to respond to this posting even if this NAICS code is not listed as your primary NAICS code(s) in SAM. Any subsequent procurement will be conducted as a commercial item purchase in accordance with FAR Part 12 and as a Simplified Acquisition Procedure in accordance with FAR Part 13. SERVICE REQUIREMENT SUMMARY: The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), Veterinary Services (VS), in cooperation with the Food Safety and Inspection Service, (FSIS), and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), conducts an ongoing Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) Surveillance program in accordance with the Animal Health Protection Act (7 USC Ch. 109) . The ongoing surveillance program requires brain stem samples to be collected from cattle in the targeted populations geographically dispersed across the United States. The targeted population includes cattle 12 months of age or older in any of the following surveillance streams as outlined in the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) Terrestrial Animal Health code: clinical suspect, casualty slaughter, and fallen stock. Contractors will identify the proper cattle to sample, collect the appropriate samples, document the samples collected, enter submission and surveillance data electronically into the Veterinary Services Laboratory Submissions (VSLS) system, or any successor submission system, and package and ship samples to designated laboratories in accordance with the objectives in this Section. Contractors shall provide personnel, labor, supervision, supplies, equipment and materials required to collect, identify, package and ship or hand deliver brain stem samples for BSE testing to designated labs. Contractors will be responsible for transport, identification, storage and disposal of carcasses and carcass parts in accordance with this contract as well as all applicable Federal, State, and local requirements. This notice does not obligate the Government to award a contract or otherwise pay for the information provided in response. The Government reserves the right to use information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and legally appropriate. Any organization responding to this notice should ensure that the response is complete and sufficiently detailed to allow the Government to determine the organizations qualifications to deliver the services. Respondents are also advised that the Government is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information or provide feedback about any of the information received. After review of the responses received, the Government may issue a pre-solicitation synopsis and solicitation in Federal Business Opportunities. No proprietary, sensitive, confidential or classified information shall be included with your response. The Government reserves the right to use any non-proprietary technical information in any resultant solicitation. Send your responses to Kim Yen Tu at kimyen.n.tu@usda.gov by July 1st at 2pm Central Time. Telephone inquiries will not be accepted. Please note "SS_ 1069075 BSE Sample Collection" in the subject line of the email.