R -- Lab Accreditation

The U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) intends to negotiate a follow-on contract with American Association of Lab Accreditation (A2LA) to continue performing audits and assessments of the USDA FSIS Field Service Laboratories located in Athens, GA, St. Louis, MO, Alameda, CA and the Microbiological Outbreaks and Special Projects Branch Laboratory in Athens, GA to access that each FSIS laboratory (1) is competent to perform specific tests, (2) maintains a quality system that addresses and confirms to all elements of ISO/IEC Standard17025, (3) maintains the required documentation and (4) is operational. The American Association for Laboratory Accreditation (A2LA) is the only known accrediting body in the United States that is authorized by the International Cooperation of Laboratory Accreditation and the National Cooperation for Laboratory Accreditation to accredit laboratories for food chemistry and food microbiology analyses. Follow-on services will begin November 7, 2003 through March 8, 2004. The procurement shall be processed under the authority of 41 USC253(c)(1), only one responsible source. This notice of intent is not a solicitation for competitive proposals. No telephone inquiries. See numbered note 22. NOTE: However, FSIS is allowing 15 days response to be considered versus dates noted in note 22.