Food Safety and Inspection Service

The Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), a sub-agency within USDA, procures laboratory equipment, research instruments, and agricultural machinery to support the Agency's food-safety testing, analytical chemistry, and agricultural research missions. FSIS transacts across both contracts and grants, with the overwhelming majority of activity on the contract side.

FSIS awarded 7,569 federal contracts cumulatively since 1980, with combined potential value of $1.38 billion and $1.27 billion obligated to date. Recent annual contract volume stands at 238 awards in 2022, 254 in 2023, 260 in 2024, 158 in 2025, and 110 year-to-date in 2026; the most recent recorded award closed on September 30, 2026. Across 1,315 distinct prime contractors, competitive concentration is highly fragmented—the top five primes by award count (Biomerieux Inc., Neogen Corp, Heritage Interiors LLC, Illumina Inc., and Winston-Salem Industries For The Blind Inc.) hold only 14 percent of recent awards. By potential value concentration is even more dispersed, with the top five (Sysorex Government Services Inc., Carahsoft Technology Corp, Illumina Inc., Labsource Inc., and Winston-Salem Industries For The Blind Inc.) accounting for just 3 percent of combined potential value. The portfolio reports recent awards with no reported potential value, indicating heavy transacting through Schedule task orders, BPA calls, or below-threshold purchase orders. Set-aside distribution is weighted heavily toward unrestricted procurement—71 percent carry no set-aside designation—with 17 percent small-business set-asides (combined), 10 percent 8(a) sole source, and less than 2 percent across SDVOSB, WOSB, HUBZone, and other categories.

FSIS awarded 1,075 federal grants cumulatively since 2008, obligating $1.04 billion in federal dollars (and $1.43 billion including non-federal match). Grant awards total 75 in 2021, 75 in 2022, 80 in 2023, 67 in 2024, and 65 in 2025; the most recent grant award closed on October 1, 2025. All 1,075 awards are Cooperative Agreements. Among 73 distinct recipients, concentration is fragmented by count and by dollar value—the top five recipients by award count (Vermont Agency Of Agriculture, Utah Department Of Agriculture, Georgia Department Of Agriculture, Alabama Department Of Agriculture & Industries, and Department Of Agriculture Food & Forestry Oklahoma) hold 23 percent of recent awards, while the top five by federal dollars (Illinois Department Of Agriculture, Department Of State Health Services, Ohio Department Of Agriculture, Trade And Consumer Protection Wisconsin Department Of Agriculture, and North Carolina Department Of Agriculture & Consumer Services) account for 14 percent of obligated federal dollars. Grant recipients are predominantly state agricultural and health departments.

Current contract opportunities lean toward laboratory instrumentation and agricultural equipment. Recent solicitations include Size Exclusion Chromatography with Light Scattering Detector (RFQ 123A9426Q0061, due September 29, 2026), Benchtop NMR spectrometer (Pre-Solicitation ARS_1173068, due September 14, 2026), Handheld X-Ray Fluorescence Analyzer (RFQ 123A9426Q0057, due September 28, 2026), and agricultural machinery including a Multi Crop Shredder (RFQ 123A9426F0062, due September 28, 2026) and Strip Till Plow (Pre-Solicitation 1168135, due September 24, 2026). Most solicitations are issued as RFQs under FAR Part 12 commercial-item procedures with simplified acquisition thresholds; several carry total small-business or WOSB set-asides. No recent grant opportunities are recorded in the source data.

The Food Safety and Inspection Service is responsible for ensuring that meat, poultry, and eggs are safe and are properly labeled and packaged.