The contract for the supply of contract Official Veterinarians and contract Meat Hygiene Inspectors in England and Wales to work in meat establishments, working closely with FSA staff, is open for tender. The current five contracts expire 31 March 2017.

About the current arrangement

Currently, we have five geographical contracts supporting the delivery of official meat control services in England and Wales.

The official meat control requirements currently fall under the European Community Regulation 882/2004 and the Food Safety and Hygiene (England) Regulations 2013, which the FSA has a statutory duty to deliver.

As part of these contracts, contract Official Veterinarians and contract Meat Hygiene Inspectors are supplied to work closely with FSA staff to ensure the statutory official controls are in place to provide the assurance that the meat produced is safe to eat and animal welfare statutory obligations are met. 

The contracts are due to expire at the end of March 2017. The FSA has to go out to tender to find a supplier or suppliers that have the capacity and capability to help deliver these vital services from 1 April 2017.

The FSA has put out an Invitation to Tender, which can be found via the 'External sites' link on this page. This will be advertised in the Official Journal of the European Union seeking a suitable supplier(s).

The FSA will award new contracts by 31 March 2017.

For further information email: denise.fitzsimons@foodstandards.gsi.gov.uk