Solicitation
AMS Designated Laboratory Meat Testing Services (ADL)
Department of Agriculture · Agricultural Marketing Service
AI summaryThe U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) wants accredited laboratories to run bacteria and fat tests on meat samples for its food-buying programs. It plans an indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) firm-fixed-price (FFP) contract: a set price per test, with orders placed as needed, for a base year from April 1, 2027 plus four one-year options through March 31, 2032. The response due date is November 6, 2026, 4:30 PM Eastern (an amendment moved it to Nov 20, 2026, 4:30 PM EST), and offers go in only through the Web-Based Supply Chain Management (WBSCM) system. More in the summary
A newer version of this notice was posted Oct 27, 2026. It moves the due date from Nov 6, 2026 to Nov 20, 2026, which is the date shown on this page. See the latest version.
AI summary Beta
Summary of the version posted Oct 13, 2026. The notice was amended Oct 27, 2026. The due date moved from Nov 6, 2026 to Nov 20, 2026. Check what else changed on SAM.gov. The notice looks incomplete: Section E of the solicitation (proposal instructions and evaluation criteria) is not in the text read here; the notice and checklist point to it. Check the attachments on SAM.gov.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) wants accredited laboratories to run bacteria and fat tests on meat samples for its food-buying programs. It plans an indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) firm-fixed-price (FFP) contract: a set price per test, with orders placed as needed, for a base year from April 1, 2027 plus four one-year options through March 31, 2032. The response due date is November 6, 2026, 4:30 PM Eastern, and offers go in only through the Web-Based Supply Chain Management (WBSCM) system.
Who can bid (4)
- Hold ISO/IEC 17025 laboratory accreditation covering every microbiological and chemical test method used, from an accreditation body that is a signatory in good standing to the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation Mutual Recognition Arrangement (ILAC MRA), and keep it current throughout the contract
- Be a third-party, independent laboratory, not owned by a company or companies that bid on AMS meat, poultry, egg or aquatic product contracts
- Register in WBSCM (vendor registration form, then a Corporate Vendor Administrator role) to submit offers
Show all 4Show fewer
- Have a current System for Award Management (SAM) registration; vendors must be active in SAM to submit and receive payment
How to submit: Web-Based Supply Chain Management (WBSCM) system only; new suppliers must first complete a WBSCM vendor registration form, due November 6, 2026, 4:30 PM Eastern (SF 1449 says 4:30pm CST). What to include is under Full summary below. Check the solicitation's instructions on SAM.gov.
Things to watch (9)
- Serious: ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation for every test. A lab without accreditation covering the listed bacteria and fat methods cannot meet the requirements, and accreditation must be kept current throughout the contract.
- Serious: Lab must be independent of meat bidders. A lab owned by, or financially or managerially tied to, a company that bids on AMS meat contracts is not eligible.
- Worth checking: Offers only through WBSCM, registration first. New suppliers must register in WBSCM before they can submit, and offers sent any other way are treated as nonresponsive.
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- Worth checking: Response due time zone differs. SAM.gov gives 4:30 PM Eastern; the SF 1449 gives 4:30pm CST on 11/06/2026. Ask the contracting officer which time governs.
- Worth checking: On-site audit before any work, at the lab's cost. AMS audits the lab after award and before samples arrive; the lab pays all audit costs, and a failed audit can end the contract.
- Worth checking: Proposal instructions (Section E) are not in the text. The notice points to Section E for the proposal package, but the solicitation text read here ends at Section D. The Source Selection Plan's factor names and its mention of an observation work statement don't match the four proposal parts on the checklist, so ask which governs.
- Worth checking: Shipping supplies must be built into unit prices. The lab supplies sample bags and containers to meat plants at its own cost, so those costs have to be included in each test's unit price.
- Minor: Only a $10,000 guaranteed minimum. Beyond the base-period minimum, work depends on task orders actually issued; the test quantities are not-to-exceed amounts, not promises.
- Minor: Immediate result reporting and pathogen notices. The lab must send all results to AMS and the vendor at the same time and notify FSIS of presumptive and confirmed positives.
Read from the notice and 3 attachments. Show which files.
- SF1449 - ADL.pdf (read)
- Solicitation - 2026 ADL.pdf (read)
- FY26 ADL SSP.docx (read)
Full summary
What they want
- Run bacteria counts on submitted meat samples: aerobic plate count (APC), total coliforms and generic E. coli, up to 69,500 EA of each per year
- Test for Salmonella (31,000 EA per year, 500 EA confirmatory) and E. coli O157:H7 (31,000 EA per year, 100 EA confirmatory)
- Test for non-O157 Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) types (2,400 EA per year, 240 EA confirmatory) and fat content (3,100 EA per year)
- Use approved methods: Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) Microbiology Laboratory Guidebook, AOAC INTERNATIONAL or American Oil Chemists' Society methods, or AMS-approved alternatives
- Send sampling instructions, shipping bags and containers to the meat vendors whose samples you test
- Report all results to AMS and the vendor at the same time, and notify FSIS of presumptive and confirmed pathogen positives
- Record results on spreadsheets with process capability values and keep AMS data secure
- Pass an AMS on-site audit before any testing starts, then annual audits
- Contract type
- Indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity (IDIQ), firm-fixed-price (FFP); the Government may make multiple awards and anticipates at least two
- Period of performance
- Base period April 1, 2027 through March 31, 2028, plus four one-year option periods ending March 31, 2032 (about 5 years in all)
- Place of performance
- SAM.gov lists USA. Each proposal must state which geographic areas its laboratory pricing covers, and where its testing facilities are.
- Estimated value
- Orders totaling at least $10,000 but not more than $15,000,000.00 (AGAR 452.216-73); a guaranteed minimum of $10,000 per contract for the base period
- How they'll choose
- Best value to the Government; the Source Selection Plan says the Government may award without discussions, so initial offers should have best pricing
- Offers due
- November 6, 2026, 4:30 PM Eastern (SF 1449 says 4:30pm CST) (from the version posted Oct 13, 2026; amended since)
- How to submit
- Web-Based Supply Chain Management (WBSCM) system only; new suppliers must first complete a WBSCM vendor registration form
- Page limits
- Not stated in the solicitation text. The Source Selection Plan says key personnel résumés should be no longer than two pages each.
What they'll judge offers on
- Proposal Part 1: Technical Information (the Source Selection Plan calls it Technical Approach)
- Proposal Part 2: Management and Workforce Practices and Policies (the Source Selection Plan calls it Contractor Capacity)
- Proposal Part 3: Past Performance Information
- Proposal Part 4: Prices (not-to-exceed (NTE) prices ranked using the schedule of items)
What to include when you submit
- Complete Standard Form 1449 (SF 1449): fill in Block 17a, sign Block 30a, print name in Block 30b and date in Block 30c, and upload as a PDF into WBSCM
- Send an acknowledgement of any amendments (Standard Form 30)
- Upload four parts as PDFs: Part 1 Technical Information, Part 2 Management and Workforce Practices and Policies, Part 3 Past Performance Information, Part 4 Prices
- Price every line item (CLIN, one priced line of the order) with a unit price and not-to-exceed (NTE) amount for each test, in the base year and each option year
- Include unit prices that cover sample shipping containers and tamper-proof bags that the lab supplies to meat plants
- List the address, city and state of every testing facility you will use, and the geographic areas you can serve (write "all states" for nationwide)
- Technical proposal needs a bookmarked table of contents and your ISO/IEC 17025 certificate of accreditation and scope of accreditation
- Technical proposal must declare no financial or management ties to any company that is or may become involved in AMS meat, poultry, egg or aquatic product contracts
- Technical proposal must give a time schedule for testing and reporting, procedures for checking the validity of results, a complaint resolution policy, a data management approach, and a procedure for changing or re-issuing reports
- Technical proposal must name the location of each lab and the type of testing done there, and give a time schedule for responding to audit findings and lab errors
- Past performance (per the Source Selection Plan): at least two prime or subcontract references of similar size or scope from the past five years, with a written discussion of any problems and the fixes. If you cannot give two, justify why.
- Key personnel list with résumés, and a primary point of contact and a backup (per the Source Selection Plan)
After award, you must have
- Pass AMS's on-site capability assessment (audit) after award and before receiving any samples; you pay all audit costs From Solicitation - 2026 ADL.pdf:
…samples for testing), the ADL must complete an on-site capability assessment.
Current contractor
No incumbent is named. AMS anticipates at least two awards so there are enough laboratory locations.
Not in the notice text
- Section E of the solicitation (proposal instructions and evaluation criteria) is not in the text read here; the notice and checklist point to it
- The question deadline and contact method for questions are not stated
- Exhibits 3 (Invoice Report Format) and 4 (WBSCM system requirements) and the reporting appendices C and D are referenced but not included in the text
- Which set-aside, if any, applies is not stated on SAM.gov
- Relative weight of the evaluation factors is not stated
Eligibility and how to respond
- No set-aside: any business, large or small, can bid unless the notice says otherwise.
- How to submit, from the AI summary: Web-Based Supply Chain Management (WBSCM) system only; new suppliers must first complete a WBSCM vendor registration form. Check it in the notice before you send anything.
- Service contracts usually set minimum pay rates (the Service Contract Act). Price the labor with the SCA price calculator.
Notice details
- Posted
- Oct 13, 2026
- Notice type
- Solicitation
- Office
- USDA Ams 3J14, Washington, DC
- Product/service code
- H389 · Inspection – Subsistence
- Business type
- Engineering, architecture & research (FedReady's grouping, from NAICS 541380)
- Versions
3 versions have been posted, newest first.
- Oct 27, 2026 · Amendment 0002Due Nov 20, 2026
- Oct 20, 2026 · Amendment 0001Due Nov 20, 2026 (changed)
- Oct 13, 2026 · Solicitation (this version)Due Nov 6, 2026
- Attachments
Past awards and competition
Who has won work like this before, the likely incumbent, and what similar contracts paid, from USAspending.gov.
Before you respond
- How to respond to a solicitation (8 steps)
- How to read a government solicitation
- How to price a government contract
Terms on this notice: Solicitation
Full notice text from SAM.gov
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) is issuing Solicitation 12-1NTS-26-R-0002 to obtain proposals from responsible, accredited analytical laboratories to perform microbiological and fat testing in support of AMS meat, poultry, egg, and aquatic product procurement programs. This requirement establishes AMS Designated Laboratories (ADLs) responsible for conducting all required microbiological and chemical analyses on samples submitted by AMS vendors, ensuring compliance with Federal Purchase Program Specifications (FPPS) and supporting food safety and quality verification efforts. AMS intends to award an Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) firm?fixed?price contract, consisting of a Base Period and up to four option periods, covering performance from April 1, 2027 through March 31, 2032. Offerors must be fully capable of meeting all technical, accreditation, reporting, and quality assurance requirements outlined in the Statement of Work (SOW) and must maintain ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation for all applicable microbiological and chemical test methods throughout the contract term. Offerors are required to submit a complete proposal package in accordance with Section E of the solicitation, including all technical, management, past performance, and pricing components, as well as a properly completed and signed SF-1449. Offerors must ensure all requirements, instructions, and submission details—such as WBSCM electronic submission processes—are fully reviewed and followed. Incomplete proposals may not be considered for award. Key expectations under this solicitation include: • Performance of all required microbiological and fat analyses using approved methods (FSIS MLG, AOAC, AOCS, or AMS?approved alternatives). • Comprehensive sample preparation, receipt, testing, reporting, and data management in accordance with AMS SOW requirements. • Timely reporting of results, including notification of presumptive or confirmed pathogen positives to AMS, FSIS, and vendors. • Secure handling and management of proprietary AMS data. • Full compliance with FAR, AGAR, and USDA?specific contract clauses incorporated into the solicitation. Prospective offerors are strongly encouraged to read the entire solicitation package, including the SOW, exhibits, and all referenced clauses, to ensure a complete and conforming submission.
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