Studies of Foodborne Pathogens in Small Specialty Farms

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), operating under the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Acquisition and Grant Services, has published a Special Notice regarding a Sole Source Firm Fixed Price contract order for studies of foodborne pathogens in small specialty farms. The FDA intends to award this contract to University of Vermont, UVM Extension - Agricultural Engineering based on a determination that only one responsible source can satisfy the agency's requirement under FAR Part 6.302-1(a)(2)(ii). This is not a competitive solicitation; however, the notice provides an opportunity for other organizations to submit capability statements demonstrating their qualifications to perform the work. The anticipated award to University of Vermont is expected within approximately ten days of the notice posting unless the Government determines that another organization possesses the capability to meet the stated requirements.

The contract represents a follow-on effort to support the FDA's Office of Applied Microbiology and Technology in evaluating foodborne pathogen sources and transmission routes in agricultural environments, continuing work from a previous purchase order through September 2027 with four optional extension years. Interested parties must submit written capability statements by April 3, 2026, at 3:00 PM EST to Hilda Aryeh at hilda.aryeh@fda.hhs.gov that clearly demonstrate their ability to perform the contracted services, which include environmental sampling at Northeast farms, laboratory analysis using FDA methods, stakeholder coordination, and development of peer-reviewed publications. The contractor must conduct field operations, communicate results to participating farms, attend an annual in-person meeting at FDA facilities in Maryland, and maintain annual travel costs below $2,500. Any organization responding to this notice must be capable of performing agricultural microbiology research and scientific services aligned with the Northeast Center to Advance Food Safety's current scope of work, with indirect costs for subcontractors capped at the specified rate structure.