DATE: October 22, 2019
TO: Board of Supervisors
SUBMITTED BY: David Pomaville, Director, Department of Public Health
SUBJECT: Agreement with Eurofins DQCI for Milk and Dairy Testing Services
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
TITLE
Approve and authorize the Chairman to execute an Agreement with Eurofins DQCI LLC, for mandated milk and dairy testing services, effective November 1, 2019 through October 31, 2024, not to exceed five consecutive years, which includes a three-year base contract, with two optional one-year extensions, total not to exceed $303,684.
REPORT
Approval of the recommended action will allow the Department of Public Health to contract with Eurofins DQCI for the Department’s Environmental Health Division (EHD) mandated milk and dairy testing under California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) Code, sections 32731-32734 to ensure dairy products are safe for public consumption. The Milk Inspection program is funded through fee revenues (60%) and Health Realignment (40%). This item is countywide.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION(S):
There are no viable alternative actions. The Department has utilized a purchase order to complete testing since October 2018 when the Public Health Lab became inoperable due to a flood; however, annual testing volume costs exceed the allowable purchase order maximum and the Department sought quotes from qualified vendors.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no increase in Net County Cost associated with the recommended action. The Milk Inspection program is funded through fee revenues (60% or $182,210) and Health Realignment (40% or $121,474). The Department anticipates first year costs not to exceed $47,000; the term maximum will not exceed $303,683.50. Sufficient appropriations and estimated revenues are included in the Department’s Org 5620 FY 2019-20 Adopted Budget and will be included in budget requests for the term’s duration.
DISCUSSION:
Milk and dairy testing is mandated under CDFA to ensure dairy products are safe for public consumption, and for regulatory purposes can only be performed by laboratories certified by CDFA. The Department’s EHD is the regulatory agency for raw milk and dairy products in the County.
EHD’s Program inspects the 68 dairies in the County at least once each quarter or more often depending on the sample analysis, collecting approximately 950 milk and water samples annually to ensure milk produced on County dairies meet Grade “A” milk standards. The Program is also responsible for permitting and inspecting the approximately 210 soft serve facilities in the County at least once each quarter or more often depending on the sample analysis. During FY 2018-19 inspectors collected over 577 soft serve samples for bacteriological analysis.
Prior to the Department’s October 2018 Brix-Mercer Building flood, which rendered the Department’s Public Health Laboratory inoperable, the Lab conducted the required testing of milk and dairy products. Since October 2018, via a County purchase order, the Department has utilized a CDFA certified milk testing laboratory.
To fulfill the Department’s ongoing milk and dairy testing service needs, on August 6, 2019, the Internal Services Department - Purchasing Division asked the Department to seek any vendors who were qualified to provide the mandated laboratory testing services. The Department confirmed, through the California State Department of Agriculture, that there are only two State certified milk testing laboratories within 45 miles of the County and quotes were solicited from both vendors. The proximity is important due to the need to minimize delivery time to meet short turnaround test result requirements and to prevent the possibility of sample spoilage due to travel time. Eurofins DQCI met the result turnaround and qualifications requirements and was determined to be the lowest bidder between the two vendors.
With your Board’s approval, the recommended agreement with Eurofins DQCI will enable the Department to fulfill the CDFA’s mandated milk and dairy inspection and testing services.
ATTACHMENTS INCLUDED AND/OR ON FILE:
On file with Clerk - Agreement with Eurofins DQCI
CAO ANALYST:
Sonia M. De La Rosa