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Safety assessment of food additives

Request For Expressions of Interest

General Information
Country:   Croatia
Notice/Contract Number:   CAACP/CQS/CFA-2
Publication Date:   Oct 22, 2008
Deadline:   Nov 18, 2008
Funding Agency:   World Bank
Buyer:   AGRIC ACQUIS COHESION
Original Language:   English

Contact Information
Address:   Drazenka Kesic Mohenski
Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Rural Development
Ulica grada Vukovara 78
Zagreb 10000
Croatia
Telephone:   +385 -1 -6109 -589
Email:   Click here

Assignments

 

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REPUBLIC OF CROATIA


MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT
Ulica grada Vukovara 78, 10000 Zagreb

“Croatia Agricultural Acquis Cohesion Project”

REQUEST FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST

Contract ref: CAACP/CQS/CFA-2
For providing consulting services for scientific study under topic:

“Safety assessment of food additives”


1. Background

Republic of Croatia has received a loan from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) towards the cost of “Croatia Agricultural Acquis Cohesion Project”. As the Borrower, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Rural Development intends to apply the proceeds toward payments under contract for providing consulting services for scientific study under topic “Safety assessment of food additives” for the Croatian Food Agency (CFA) in Osijek.


2. Brief description of the requested services:

The objective of this survey is to improve the safety of food in Croatia regarding food additive consumption through balance sheet data collection and estimation based on production and foreign trade, consumption habits and chemical analysis.
The aim of this survey is to identify the most frequently used food additives in various types of food in order to assess their amounts, which combined daily do not exceed acceptable daily intakes. The food additive safety assessment procedures definitely do not assess the risks of an additive. Instead, they identify a level considered safe for the population. In a sense, then, risks are managed rather than explicitly assessed with this technique. This does not make food additive safety assessment a lesser kind of assessment. The survey will design needs for database which will receive and provide structured reporting formats for further assessment.
The beneficiaries will be:
• Croatian Food Agency
• Institute of public health
• Croatian central bureau of statistics
• Croatian chamber of economy
• Ministry of health and social welfare
• Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Rural Development

Chemical risk assessment is science based approach which has to provide advice to risk managers on the likely levels of risk, associated with given levels of exposure to chemicals via food. Basic steps of chemical risk assessment are:
 Hazard identification
 Hazard characterization (Dose-response assessment)
 Exposure assessment
 Risk characterization

Firstly, it is necessary to formulate the problem according the hazard identification in order to identify adverse health effects.
Second step is hazard characterization which will provide information on dose-response for critical effect. Parallel with those two steps will be maintain exposure assessment through which we will get data on levels of substance in food and diet and amounts of consumed food.
As a result of previous risk assessment steps, it will be obtained food additive ranking in order to sort out the most frequently use additives and to find out if consumers health is endangered by their consumption (risk characterization).
Based on the results of risk assessment, risk managers (Ministries) will provide necessary measures.

3. Expected commencement of this assignment is in first quarter of 2009. Expected date for completion is in October of 2010.


4. Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Rural Development now invites eligible firms to express their interest in providing the requested services. Interested firms shall provide information indicating that they are qualified to perform the services (e.g. brochures, description of their experience in similar scopes of works, experience in similar conditions, availability of appropriate skilled staff, equipment, etc.).

5. All interested firms should submit in their “Expressions of interest” also the following evidence on following qualification, skills and equipment:
Requirements for consultants firm’s:
Consultants firm’s qualifications: institutions in which will be performed researches should represent the leading institutions in the research area of food safety due to their competence and equipment. Therefore they should be able to perform analysis and researches required by this study, including proper methodology and instruments (LC or HPLC on high efficient chromatograph with DAD detector.)
It is also of grate importance for data reproducibility and validity, as well as comparison of results, that laboratory should be accredited according international standard (HRN) EN ISO/IEC 17025. This standard provides an assurance that laboratory (or institute) have independence of all interferences on their work and give reliable and accurate results.

Qualification and experience requirements for consultant firm's:

Core business and years in business: consultant firm core business should be in the area of food safety. It should be well equipped in order to be capable to maintain all analyses requested whit this study and with minimum 10 years of experience as a consultancy firm.

Qualification in the field of assignment: consultant firm should be able to provide documentation of compliance with international standards with the scope of accreditation from the area of food additives. Also, it should have minimum 10 years of experience in the subject area, regardless the date of accreditation.

Availability of key personnel: key personnel should provide documentation in order confirm their qualifications in the subject area and should have at least 7 years working experience.

Requirements for consultant’s team:
Education: research team should be formed of an adequate number of people, of whom some of them should have academic degree and be experts on certain field related to food safety and adequate number of technical assistants.

Experience: team experts should have minimum 5 years of analytical and epidemiology experience while technical assistants should have minimum 3 years of analytical experience.

Abilities: Team experts should be able to conduct researches related to nutrition, consumption habits and chemical risk assessment. Technical assistants should conduct analytical methods according to GLP.
Personal Qualities: predisposition for team work, openness to new knowledge.
Skills: active use of foreign languages (primarily English), active use of computer programs (probability program) and work with data bases.

Equipment: sampling equipment, camera, computer, scanner, printer, computer programs, motor vehicle.

Validated Liquid chromatographs (LC) with DAD detector and binary pump, degasser, auto sampler which automatically regulate temperature for wide range temperature regulation.

Validated UV/VIS spectrophotometer. Validated methods for detection of additives in food.

6. A firm for this assignment will be selected in accordance with the (CQS) Consultant’s Qualification selection method and procedures set out in the World Bank's Guidelines: “Selection and Employment of Consultants by World Bank Borrowers“ (issue: May 2004)


7. Interested firms may obtain further information at the address below from 08:00 to 16:00 hours (Central European Time - every working day). Expressions of interest along with details of firm’s experience and qualifications for this assignment must be submitted by mail/personnel to the address below no later than November 18, 2008 until 16:00 hours.



Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Rural Development
Address: Ulica grada Vukovara 78, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
Responsible officer: Mrs. Drazenka Kesic Mohenski, Procurement Officer
Office No.: 317 (IIIrd floor)
Tel: +385 – 1 – 6109 - 589
Fax: 6109 - 206
E-mail: drazenka.kesic@mps.hr
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