UNSPSC 42181501: Tongue depressors or blades or sticks

In this classification, this commodity indicates a product used as a tongue depressor, blade or stick in a medical setting. US FDA regulates Tongue depressors or blades or sticks under 21 CFR 880.6230 and under FDA product code FMA. Most nations, for tariff and trade purposes, schedule these products under HS 300590.

UNSPSC 42181501 Tongue depressors or blades or sticks is a Commodity code that captures medical examination and diagnostic supplies procured by state and local government entities, primarily through cooperative purchasing vehicles and master-agreement frameworks rather than individual agency solicitations. State and local governments buy tongue depressors as part of broader medical-supply catalogs serving public health departments, correctional facilities, school health clinics, and other government health-service operations. The work solicited under this code typically involves vendors establishing framework agreements that allow multiple public entities to order standardized medical supplies at negotiated unit prices, often with volume-discount structures tied to aggregate purchasing across the cooperative membership.

The issuing bodies pursuing medical supplies under this code include state health agencies and cooperative purchasing consortia such as NASPO ValuePoint and Sourcewell, which aggregate demand across dozens of participating states and local government entities. Recent activity concentrates on NASPO ValuePoint RFP NVP1443 (Idaho Medical Supplies), posted October 6, 2026 with proposals due November 9, 2026, which seeks medical-supply vendors to establish master agreements for distribution to Idaho state agencies and other participating public entities through the cooperative vehicle. The same deadline applies to the parallel NASPO ValuePoint RFP 1433 solicitation posted September 25, 2026, which administers the cooperative procurement at the national level with South Dakota as the administering state. Both solicitations emphasize competitive unit pricing, comprehensive product catalogs, and tiered or volume-discount structures. The geographic footprint spans Idaho, South Dakota, and the broader NASPO ValuePoint membership across multiple states, though the available documentation does not detail which specific states or localities have submitted recent individual tongue-depressor solicitations outside the cooperative framework.