Request for Proposals

Vermont agency of agriculture, Foodand Markets

Studying Pathogen Destruction and Potential Human and Animal Health Risks from Anaerobically Digesting Food Residuals with Cow Manure in a Mesophilic Digester

Please respond in writing, preferably by email, by 14 November, 2014.

Respond to:Alexander DePillis

Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets

116 State Street

Montpelier, VT 05620-2901

1 of 3 pages

Purpose

The purpose of this Request for Proposals (RFP) is to study the animal and human health risks of introducing food residuals, as defined below, into on-farm, mesophilic, anaerobic digesters.

Objective and Scope of Work

Vermont’s Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets seeks a qualified team or individual to study and report on the destruction of relevant pathogens in the types of digesters currently operating in Vermont. Specifically, the investigation should:

  1. Review and summarize literature, including:
  2. State, national, and internationallevel rules and regulations, for handling food waste in digesters, especially digesters operating also on agricultural inputs;
  3. Studies of pathogen destruction in mesophilic digesters that handle food residuals, especially those that handle cow manure with food residuals.
  4. Review and summarize animal and human disease vectors and risk factors.
  5. Collect and interpret data on pathogen destruction of digesters that are mainly processing cow manure or similar, in addition to a significant fraction of food residuals.
  6. Test and document destruction of relevant pathogens in a dedicated digester that uses cow or similar manure and relatively high fractions of food residuals.
  7. Reporting:
  8. Create one report of progress when more than one third of the work is complete;
  9. Submit a draft final report, a mutually acceptable final report, and
  10. Submit all data and documentation from the project.

Deliverables

See item 5 above.

In addition, a project plan must be completed and agreed to by Vermont Agency of Agriculture as the first step of the work to be performed. The project plan should include milestones, dependencies, and periodic updates on status of work and major findings.

See below regarding the audience for the final report.

Context

This RFP seeks work that fills a gap in knowledge. There appears to be very little research or reporting on the risks to cow health when a significant fraction of food waste, specifically pre- and post-consumer solid food waste that is not from a food-processing facility, is anaerobically digested in the mesophilic temperature range, with cow manure, and separated solids from the digester are used for bedding in the dairy cow operation. We assume that the pathogens would come especially from food waste that is not pasteurized, and we are especially concerned about the effect of incorporating meat of any sort, or food that has been in contact with meat.

This work serves a larger objective of characterizing obstacles to the expansion of Vermont’s fleet of on-farm digesters. In a complementary effort, the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets also plans to use geographic information systems to identify locations that have sources of food waste, a significant amount of manure from dairy or other farms, and favorable characteristics of the electrical grid.

In service of this larger objective, the Agency plans to widely disseminate the findings from both efforts. At least some of the deliverables from the portion of the work resulting from this RFP, for example the final report, should be written in a manner that takes account of the larger context, and is useful to a layperson, farmer, or an animal health audience.

Criteria for selection

  • Value for price
  • Ability to synthesize and distill or interpret the existing body of work
  • Ability to narrow the investigation to the most useful lines of inquiry
  • Ability to deliver value through objectivity, collaboration, and dissemination of results.

RFP Submission Guidelines

Please include in your proposal, in fewer than seven pages:

  • Scope of work
  • Timeline
  • Itemized budget, as a fixed price bid
  • Qualifications (relevant experience)

Timeline:

October 23, 2014RFP issued

November 4, 2014Deadline to submit questions regarding the RFP

November 7, 2014Questions answered to all interested parties

November 14, 2014Proposals due

How to Respond

All communications must be in writing, preferably by email.

Anyone wishing to be considered an interested party for the purpose of receiving answers to questions that were submitted, must express that interest in writing.

Respond to:Alexander DePillis

Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets

116 State Street

Montpelier, VT 05620-2901