Page 3 of 3 THIS REQUEST FOR INFORMATION IS ISSUED SOLELY FOR INFORMATION AND PLANNING PURPOSES ONLY AND DOES NOT CONSTITUTE A SOLICITATION. This is a Request for Information (RFI), this is not a Request for Quotes (RFQ) or Request for Proposals (RFP). No formal solicitation document exists at this present time. This is not a solicitation announcement. The purpose of this Sources Sought notice is for market research to gain knowledge of potential vendors qualified under NAICS 3118111 includes Description Retail bakeries PSC 8920 Description bread and cereal with a NAIC size standard of 1000 employees for the Washington DC VAMC. Responses to this Sources Sought notice will be utilized by the Government to make appropriate acquisition decisions. After review of the responses to this Sources Sought notice, a solicitation announcement may or may not be published in FedBizOpps (FBO) or GSA ebuy. REQUESTED INFORMATION If you are interested and capable, and can provide the required supplies, please provide the requested information as indicated below: Responses to this Sources Sought notice shall also include: company name, address, point of contact, size of business: Is this item on contract with your GSA, SEWP, other federal contract, or the NAC contract? Provide the contract type, contract number, category(s), sin, and source code. Provide business size status and representations for the above NAIC and PSC code if not the above NAIC code. (if applicable) Provide a copy authorized distributor letter if you are not the manufacturer. Are these line items priced open market? Provide public pricing information. Is vendor registered and active in SAMS under NAIC 311811? Is vendor registered and active in VIPS under NAIC code 311811? Does vendor have relevant experience for bakery products? If equal product, provide Brand, pkg quantity, UPC, and product info. Scope of Work: General: The scope of this requirement involves providing bread and bakery products, which conform to the specifications outlined and referenced herein to the VA's Nutrition & Food Service. The service is located Washington DC Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Main Kitchen, Room 1C-102 at 50 Irving St NW Washington DC 20422. 1. Contract Type: The contract type is firm-fixed price, FOB Destination. 10/1/2021-9/30/22 2. Period of Performance: The period of performance for the provision of bread and bakery products shall be a base period from October 1st, 2021 through September 30th, 2022. This is estimated annual quantity- Product to be delivered Item Number Description UPC QTY Unit of Measure 0001 Texas Toast PKG 378 300 0002 Country White PKG 770630 10500 0003 100% Whole Wheat Bread PKG 770117 10500 0004 12" Large Sub Rolls PKG 297 1000 0005 4.5" Kaiser Rolls PKG 294 1500 0006 Plain Hot Dog Rolls PKG 359 1500 0007 4" Plain Hamburger Rolls PKG 353 4000 0008 Wheat Pita PKG 915392 100 0009 Breadsticks PKG 333 1500 A. The delivered products shall meet the specifications as listed below on this document and comply with all applicable Federal and State mandatory requirements and regulations relating to the preparation, packaging, labeling, storage, distribution, and sales of the products within the commercial marketplace. All deliveries shall conform in every respect to the provisions of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and regulations, promulgated hereunder. B. Contractor Certification. By submitting an offer, the contractor certifies that the product offered meets the specified salient characteristics and requirements of the Federal Hospital Subsistence Guide; conforms to the producer s own specifications and standards including product characteristics, manufacturing procedures, and storage and handling; and is sold in the commercial marketplace. The Government reserves the right to determine proof of such conformance prior to the first delivery from point of origin and any time thereafter, up to and including delivery at final destination as may be necessary to determine conformance with the terms of the contract. C. Individually sliced wrapped bread and individually wrapped dinner rolls will be dated. 4. ALTERNATE ITEMS, PACKAGING, AND PACKING A. Offerors may propose alternate items, packaging, or packing. Offerors shall clearly indicate in their offer the quantity, packaging size, unit, or other different features upon which the offer is submitted. Evaluation of the alternate item will be made against a common denominator (i.e. weight, package quantity, etc.). Offerors are reminded that the alternate item must meet all requirements of the Government specifications. B. Environmental Standards. Should the contractor manufacturer and provide company brand bread and roll products the Contractor should utilize, if possible, recycled materials for containers as long as they meet the FDA sanitary standards for the specific commodity. List recycled materials for containers as long as they meet the FDA sanitary standards for the specific commodity. 5. PRODUCT QUALITY AND FRESHNESS: A. Product conformance. The fresh bread provided shall meet the salient characteristics of the CID cited; conform to the producer s own specifications, standards and quality assurance practices; and be the same fresh bread offered for sale in the commercial marketplace. The Government reserves the right to require proof of such conformance. B. Quality assurance. When required, the Federal Grain Inspection Service (FGIS), U.S. Department of Agriculture shall determine the quality assurance of the fresh bread according to the requirements of the CID or applicable standards or specifications. The fresh bread shall be examined or analyzed in accordance with applicable provision in the CID, solicitation, contract, or purchase order, and when applicable, the United States Standards for Condition of Food container in effect on the date of the offer. C. Age requirement. Fresh bread shall be delivered less than 24 hours old upon arrival at the receiving point. Failure to comply with this provision will be considered grounds for default of contract. D. All products furnished under this contract shall be processed and packed under sanitary conditions in strict accordance with guidelines provided by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, using the best commercial practices that are standard for the industry. All containers shall be clean, sound, and securely covered or sealed to provide adequate protection from dirt, filth, or contamination. All ingredients shall be clean, sound, wholesome, and free from evidence of rodent or insect infestation. Failure to comply with this provision will be considered grounds for default of contract. E. Ingredients for fresh bread shall consist of flour, water, salt, yeast, emulsifiers or stabilizers, and other ingredients appropriate for the type of bread specified in the schedule of items. The fresh bread shall include mold inhibitors of proper levels as allowed by the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. F. Enriched flour. When the bread is enriched, the wheat flour used for the bread shall conform to the U.S. Standards of Identity for Enriched Flour (21 CFR 137.156) and shall be milled from a variety of hard and/or soft wheat. G. Appearance and color. The fresh bread shall have uniformly brown crust characteristic of the product. The fresh bread shall have a typical volume, characteristic grain, and be evenly baked without evidence of foreign odors or flavors, burnt, scorched, stale, rancid, or moldy. The delivered fresh bread shall not be crushed or damaged. H. Unless otherwise specified in the item specification or solicitation, marking shall be in accordance best commercial practice. I. Any commercial or additional labeling, as specified, which complies with the U.S. Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, and regulations promulgated thereunder, is acceptable. J. Products manufactured to metric dimensions will be considered on an equal basis with those manufactured using inch-pound units, providing they fall within tolerances specified using conversion tables contained in the latest revision of Federal Standard No. 376. If a product is manufactured to metric dimensions and those dimensions exceed the tolerance specified in the inch-pound units, a request should be made to the Contracting Officer to determine if the product is acceptable. The COR, in accordance with the Contracting Officer, will accept or reject the product. K. Additional packaging, packing, and/or marking requirements can be found in the Addendum to 52.212-4, Terms and Conditions - Commercial Items. 6. INSPECTION OF PLANTS: A. All products furnished under the awarded contract shall be processed at plants that have been inspected by the Federal Government. Approved inspection reports of another VA Facility or other Federal Government agency will be accepted as satisfactory evidence that the facilities/plants meets these requirements, provided that the inspection was made not more than six (6) months prior to the proposed contract period (see Addendum to 52.212-3 for representations and certifications). The Contracting Officer or his/her designee reserves the right to make pre-award, on site survey and inspection of the plant, personnel, equipment, and processes of the offeror. If the plant of the apparent low offeror does not meet specification or is not acceptable, the offer will be rejected. THE BIDDER CERTIFIES THAT: (check one) ( ) No agent of the Federal Government has conducted an inspection of the physical facilities of this plant within the last six (6) months. OR ( ) An inspection of the physical facilities of the plant was conducted by the: _________________________________________ on ________________________ (Agency) (Date of Inspection) PLEASE PROVIDE COPY OF LAST INSPECTION REPORT WITH QUOTATIONS. B. INSPECTIONS OF PLANTS: An inspection may be made of the premises and employees of bidder, prior to making award, and conditions found will be considered in awarding the contract. Inspection may also be made at any time during the life of the contract and, if it is found that the contractor is not complying with specifications, deliveries will be rejected and the products covered by this contract will be procured in the open market. Any excess cost occasioned by this action will be charged against the contractors account. 7. ORDERING 1. The Washington DC Food and Nutrition shall place orders no less than two (2) work days prior to required delivery date. Upon delivery at the receiving location, items ordered shall be less than 24 hours of age. Orders will be placed by the COR or his/her designees. Each order will show ship-to and bill-to addresses and purchase order number (if required). Orders for product may be placed by phone, fax, mail, email, or EDI. If the contractor is not already set up as an EDI Vendor, they must be set-up by contacting the VA Austin Automation Center. 2. Quantities shown on previous pages represent the quantities estimated to be ordered over the delivery period. Quotes will be evaluated based on the estimated quantities. Actual quantities ordered may vary among the line items. 3. The Contractor shall provide the name, location, and telephone number, whereby calls, including emergency calls, are to be placed. Name _______________________________________________ Location _____________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ Telephone number _____________________________________ 8. DELIVERIES AND INVOICING 1. All orders shall be received at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Main Kitchen, Room 1C-102 located at 50 Irving St NW Washington DC 20422: Deliveries to be made not before 7:00am and not after 1:00pm, Monday through Friday including Federal Holidays. Deliveries shall not be made on Saturday or Sunday, except in extreme emergencies. Deliveries shall be made five (5) times per week and not on consecutive days. The VA needs enough time before the expiration date on product to allow reasonable rotation. Bread delivery shall occur 5+ days before the expiration date on the delivered product package. The contractor will transport the bread from the logistics dock to the main kitchen and will have the bread checked in by the COR or his/her designee between the hours of 07:00 am and 11:00am local time Mondays and Thursday, excluding Federal Holidays, as requested by the COR or his/her designee. When one of the holidays falls on a Sunday, the following Monday will be observed as a legal holiday by US Government agencies. In this case, and if the federal holiday falls on a Thursday, delivery shall be made the next business day after the observed holiday. Requests for deliveries on a different day and/or at a different time shall be submitted to and approved by the Contracting Officer and his/her designee in writing. Federal Holidays are as follows and include any other days specifically declared by the President of the United States to be a national holiday: New Year s Day January 1 Martin Luther King s Birthday 3rd Monday in January President s Day 3rd Monday in February Memorial Day Last Monday in May Juneteenth Day June 19 Independence Day July 4 Labor Day 1st Monday in September Columbus Day 2nd Monday in October Veteran s Day November 11 Thanksgiving Day 4th Thursday in November Christmas Day December 25 2. Deliveries and invoicing for the Nutrition & Food Service department must be accomplished separately at the office listed below. Invoices must contain at a minimum: the purchase order and itemized list of the products delivered; unit prices; and total price. B) Payment will be made monthly upon receipt of properly prepared invoices for items delivered and accepted during the preceding month. The proper purchase order number shall be stated on each invoice. 10. EVALUATION CRITERIA The Government will award to the responsible offeror whose offer, conforming to the solicitation, that are considered to be most advantageous to the Government, with past performance and price considered, prices being rated higher than past performance. Past Performance. The offeror must provide documentation of three (3) references for verification purposes of past performance which demonstrate the company s ability to meet the qualifications herein, inclusive of point of contract information and current phone numbers. LINE ITEM: NOTES All Capability Statements/Responses to this Sources Sought notice shall be submitted via email only to
[email protected]. Telephone, Fax, or any other form of communication inquiries will not be reviewed or accepted in response to this Sources Sought notice. Responses to this Sources Sought notice must be received no later than 9/13/21 at 1:00 p.m. (Eastern Standard Time). This Sources Sought notice is to assist the VA in determining sources only. A solicitation is not currently available. If a solicitation is issued, it may or may not be announced at a later date, and all interested parties shall respond to that solicitation announcement separately from the responses to this Sources Sought notice. DISCLAIMER This Request for Information (RFI) is issued for information and planning purposes only and does not constitute a solicitation. All information received in response to this RFI that is marked a proprietary will be handled accordingly in accordance with (IAW) Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 15.201(e), RFIs may be used when the Government does not presently intend to award a contract, but wants to obtain price, delivery, other market information, or capabilities for planning purposes. Responses to these notices are not offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. Responders are solely responsible for all expenses incurred associated with responding to this RFI. Please reference the following in your email subject line: 36C24522Q0021 Sources Sought Notice Response End of Notice