DUPONT™ BAX® System Q7 Startup Package (for new system)

Trade Agreement: NAFTA/AIT/Canada FTAs with Peru/Colombia/Panama
Tendering Procedures: All interested suppliers may submit a bid
Attachment: None
Competitive Procurement Strategy: Lowest/Lower Bid
Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement: No
Nature of Requirements: 
DUPONT™ BAX® System Q7 Startup Package (for new system)

39903-150149/A
Alan Takasaki
Supply Specialist
Public Works and Government Services Canada
Acquisitions Branch Vancouver,
2nd floor, 800 Burrard St
Vancouver, BC V6Z  2V8
Telephone: 	(604)775-7605    	Facsimile: 	(604)775-7526
E-mail address: al.takasaki@pwgsc.gc.ca

The PWGSC Vancouver office provides procurement services to the
public in English.

Requirement:
Canada Food Inspection Agency (CFIA)  Microbiology Laboratory
located in Burnaby BC.,  require the supply and delivery One(1)
only, DUPONT™ BAX® System Q7 Startup Package (for new system).

Delivery date: On or before March 31, 2015.

All Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) food testing labs use
the BAX Q7 instruments for regulatory testing of food samples. 
The CFIA Burnaby Microbiology Laboratory currently has two BAX
Q7 instruments.  In order to complement current testing capacity
within the Burnaby Laboratory, the BAX Q7 instrument must be
purchased to allow for:

The integration into the current work flow of the laboratory
including ISO 17025 accreditation requirements and the quality
assurance system with the laboratory.

The use of methods which have undergone extensive validation
across multiple food matrices that are published as fit for
purpose methods in the enforcement of food safety regulations.

All the methods using the BAX Q7 instrument are published in the
Health Canada Compendium of Analytical Methods which is the
Canadian repository of all regulatory testing methodologies
(e.g. MFLP-15, MFLP-28, MFLP-29, and MFLP-30).

No other testing platform has received the same level of
validation and approval for the regulatory testing of matrices
under the CFIA's testing regime.

The substitution of a new testing platform would require the
expenditure of additional human resources and extensive
verification (of new methods and instrument) due to the CFIA's
strict quality assurance system and the ISO 17025 accreditation
of the labs.  As CFIA Burnaby does not currently have the
resources, it would take several years to verify any new
instrument and could decrease the ability of the lab to deliver
on its food safety mandate.  Maintaining multiple testing
platforms to perform the same test would significantly increase
operational costs.  In addition, the implementation costs would
exceed $200,000.00 for verification and/or validation, training,
retooling the laboratory, additional reagents and labour for
validating and/or verifying the system.  The laboratory would
have an added cost of maintaining the additional inventory of
tests, increased analyst training, and increased proficiency
testing to maintain proficiency and accreditation.

Using an alternate testing platform could also create
unacceptable inconsistencies across the CFIA testing labs.  BAX
instruments use specific kits that have been validated
extensively and having a different instrument would result in
different reported tests on some diagnostic samples.  This will
result in confusion and concerns from CFIA clients and any
auditing authority.  The CFIA also has several equivalencies for
methods used on the BAX Q7 instrument with international
regulatory partners to allow for harmonization of the Canadian
food safety system to exporting partners.  The use of alternate
instruments and their associated methods could jeopardize this
relationship and negatively impact trade.

Delivery Date: Above-mentioned

The Crown retains the right to negotiate with suppliers on any
procurement.

Documents may be submitted in either official language of Canada.