Shellfish Sampling Services for the Cornwall Port Health Authority

Port Health is a Service of Cornwall Council. The Council has a statutory duty, overseen by the Food Standards Agency (FSA), to carry out official controls in relation to the regulation of the shellfish industry in Cornwall. This entails regular sample testing of shellfish for bacterial and bio-toxin testing across a number of locations, primarily between Looe and the Lizard Peninsula, but those locations could expand to other sites further along the Cornish Coast. This requires the provision, use and maintenance of third party owned and operated vessels, the provision and servicing of between 25-35 (currently 26) individual mooring systems, use of crew members and use of open water diving services. The Authority is anticipating receiving bids from prime contractors, who will take responsibility for providing all aspects of the service requirements either through their own resources or by suitably managing sub contractors, where necessary, and as such collaborative bids would be welcomed, as long as it is clear which organisation is the lead bidder and would be responsible for contracting with the Authority. As this opportunity has not been formally advertised previously, interested organisations are invited to attend a 'market engagement event', scheduled to take place at Lanhydrock Golf and Country Club, between 10.30 and 13.00 on Tuesday February 25th, 2020. Attendance at this meeting is not mandatory but highly recommended as an opportunity to discuss all aspects of the proposed services and contract with Service, Procurement and Legal representatives from the Authority. For further details and to register your interest in this event please click on the following electronic link https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/supply-of-services-to-cornwall-port-health-authority-tickets-92195973639 The intention at this stage is to formally advertise the proposed contract to run for an initial 3 years from 1st June 2020, with an option to extend for a further 22 months beyond that, up until 31st March, 2025.

This opportunity is also being advertised via the Official Journal of the European Union website as well as the supplyingthesouthwest.co.uk website, where further interest in this opportunity can also be lodged, against project reference DN450435, and any queries in relation to it should be raised via the project messaging system.

Additional information:

The Cornish shellfish industry dates back for centuries and supports a thriving food production industry as well as playing a significant role in Cornwall's reputation for outstanding food and drink. In a survey carried out in 2014 by Cornwall Food and Drink, seafood is now the food product most strongly associated with Cornwall than any other. Cornwall's nutrient rich waters, in river, estuarine and offshore or open water production sites currently supports 38 active shellfish beds with a further 9 beds in various stages of application. It is the responsibility of Cornwall Council to act as a regulator to the shellfish industry to ensure shellfish product entering the food chain is fit for consumption. This means working with industry to - make new applications for shellfish beds and species around the Cornish coast; - implement an extensive programme of official control sampling across all shellfish beds to keep the beds open to harvesting; - ensure only shellfish is harvested from areas under these official controls and lastly, - working with the owners of depuration premises to ensure the product is handled and processed correctly prior to being sold for consumption. Due to its unique riparian geography, Cornwall has the greatest number of classified shellfish production areas of any other Authority.

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A proposed annual schedule of sampling requirements, from 1st June, 2020, will be made available at the market engagement event to give a greater indication of the scope of services, as well as information relating to other key specification details and service requirements.