AWARD OUTCOME
What happened
The Food Standards Agency awarded Lot 2 of its 2027 UK retail meat antimicrobial-resistance surveillance programme to UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA). The contract covers microbiological testing, data analysis, reporting and archiving of recovered bacteria and AMR profiles. It was signed on 6 October 2026 and is scheduled to run from 1 November 2026 to 30 July 2028, with a buyer option of up to six further months.
Published outcomeLot 2 was awarded to UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) under an open procedure. Lot 1, covering survey design, retail sample collection and transport, failed and was retendered separately.
Market significanceThis is a specialist public-sector laboratory and surveillance services award supporting UK food-safety evidence on antimicrobial resistance in retail beef and pork.
AWARDED SUPPLIERS AND LOTS
1 supplier record analysed
UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA)
98% confidenceAward 2 · Lots Lot 2 · £134,038 excluding VAT; £160,845.60 including VAT GBP · Active contract
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Contract 2 links to award 2 and identifies UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) as supplier. It gives amount £134,038 and gross amount £160,845.60.
LIFECYCLE
Award or contract stage
Tender notice published
99% confidence12 June 2026
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Release history records tender notice 055510-2026 dated 2026-06-12.
Award notice published
99% confidence10 September 2026
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Release history records contract award notice 085632-2026 dated 2026-09-10.
Contract signed
99% confidence6 October 2026
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Contract 2 specifies dateSigned as 2026-10-06.
Contract details notice published
99% confidence12 October 2026
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Contract document 095968-2026 is dated 2026-10-12 and is described as a Contract details notice.
Contract status
98% confidenceActive
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Award 2 and contract 2 are both recorded with status active.
VALUES
Published values explained
Contract value excluding VAT
99% confidence£134,038
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Contract 2 value.amount is 134038 GBP.
Contract value including VAT
99% confidence£160,845.60
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Contract 2 value.amountGross is 160845.6 GBP.
Value allocation
98% confidenceAllocated to Lot 2 / contract 2
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Contract 2 is linked to award 2, which is linked to Lot 2.
TIMELINE
Procurement timeline
Contract start
99% confidence1 November 2026
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Contract 2 period.startDate is 2026-11-01.
Scheduled contract end
99% confidence30 July 2028
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Contract 2 period.endDate is 2028-07-30.
Maximum possible end date
99% confidence30 January 2029
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Contract 2 period.maxExtentDate is 2029-01-30, consistent with the stated extension option.
SCOPE
What was awarded
Programme
99% confidenceEU-harmonised surveillance of AMR E. coli and Salmonella in fresh beef and pork meat sold at UK retail in 2027
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Procurement title.
Awarded lot
99% confidenceLot 2: microbiological testing, data analysis, reporting and archiving of recovered bacteria and their AMR profile
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Procurement description and contract title.
Service classifications
99% confidenceResearch laboratory services; research services; laboratory services; research and development consultancy services
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Award item classifications list CPV 73111000, 73110000, 71900000 and 73200000.
Lot 1 position
99% confidenceLot 1 failed and was retendered through a separate procurement process
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Procurement description states that Lot 1 survey design, sample collection and laboratory transport was a failed procurement and was retendered separately.
PROCEDURE
Procedure and competition
Procedure
99% confidenceOpen procedure
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Tender procurementMethodDetails is recorded as Open procedure.
Competition information
99% confidenceNumber of tenders, bidder identities, evaluation scores and award rationale were not supplied in the published data.
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No bid-count, scoring or evaluation fields are present in the supplied notice data.
Threshold status
97% confidenceRecorded as below threshold
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Contract 2 aboveThreshold is false.
CONTRACT TERMS
Published contract terms
Initial term
99% confidence1 November 2026 to 30 July 2028
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Contract 2 period start and end dates.
Extension option
99% confidenceBuyer may extend by up to 6 months with at least 10 working days' written notice before expiry.
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Contract 2 renewal description.
Renewal provision
99% confidenceYes
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Contract 2 hasRenewal is true.
COMMERCIAL VIEW
Commercial observations
Delivery model
98% confidenceThe awarded scope concentrates laboratory testing and analytical reporting in Lot 2, while retail survey design, sampling and sample transport were separated into Lot 1.
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The procurement description separately defines Lot 1 and Lot 2.
Market access implication
98% confidenceThe published result shows a completed award for laboratory and data services, but no completed award for the sampling and transport lot within this procurement.
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Lot 2 is complete and linked to an active contract; the description says Lot 1 failed and was retendered separately.
DATA QUALITY
Gaps and source limitations
Supplier naming variation
97% confidenceThe supplied award-level supplier record uses 'UK Health Security Agency', while the OCDS supplier party and contract-linked award use 'UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA)'. Both use GB-PPON identifier PBMQ-7576-DVGW; this analysis uses the latter source name.
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Supplier records for awards 1 and 2 and the supplier party share identifier PBMQ-7576-DVGW but have slightly different names.
Award-record inconsistency
99% confidenceThe supplied award list includes award 1 for Lot 2 dated 27 August 2026 and award 2 for Lot 2 without an award date. The contract explicitly links to award 2; no separate contract value is attributed to award 1.
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Top-level awards list includes awards 1 and 2 for Lot 2, while contract 2 has awardID 2.
Lot title availability
99% confidenceThe structured lot record provides no title or description; the Lot 2 scope has been taken from the procurement description and contract title.
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Lot 2 structured fields title and description are null, while the procurement description and contract title specify the work.
SOURCE DATA LIMITATIONS
Information not supplied in the published notice
- Information not supplied in the published notice: tender count, bidder identities, evaluation methodology, scores, award rationale, pricing breakdown and individual line-item pricing.
- The source contains two Lot 2 award records (awards 1 and 2) with differing completeness; the contract links only to award 2, while award 1 carries an earlier award date and the same net value.
- No Companies House-verified company name or company number was supplied for the supplier; the supplier identity is presented using the source party name and GB-PPON identifier.
- Information on the separate retender for failed Lot 1 is not supplied in this notice.
MARKET THEMES
Relevant award themes
Food Standards AgencyUK Health Security AgencyUKHSAantimicrobial resistanceAMR surveillancemicrobiological testingfood safetyretail meat testingSalmonellaE. coli
COMMON QUESTIONS
About this award
Who won the Food Standards Agency AMR surveillance contract?
UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) was awarded Lot 2 for microbiological testing, data analysis, reporting and archiving.
What is the value of the awarded contract?
The Lot 2 contract value is £134,038 excluding VAT, or £160,845.60 including VAT.
When does the contract run?
It is scheduled to run from 1 November 2026 to 30 July 2028, with a buyer option to extend by up to six months.
What happened to Lot 1?
The notice states that Lot 1, covering survey design, retail sample collection and transport, failed and was retendered through a separate process.
ProcuraAxis award analysis supplements, but does not replace, the official award notice, contract data or procurement documents. “Awarded” does not by itself prove that a contract has been signed.