Emerging risk Identification through analysis of botanical substances in food supplements

EFSA tender EFSA/2026/OP/0006 seeks a contractor to prioritise and chemically analyse plant based food supplements reported to contain substances with QSAR predicted carcinogenic, mutagenic or reprotoxic properties to support emerging risk identification. The estimated contract value is €200,000 for an 18 month service contract, with electronic submission via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal and a deadline of 31 August 2026 14:30:59 CEST. Eligible bidders include specialised analytical laboratories, food safety research institutes or consultancies able to query national databases, contact food business operators, perform laboratory composition analyses and deliver risk prioritisation outputs. The award will be based on quality weighted 70 percent and price weighted 30 percent.

What it funds

Scope

A service contract to support EFSA's emerging risk identification by prioritising and chemically analysing food supplements made of plants reported to contain substances with QSAR-predicted carcinogenic, mutagenic or reprotoxic properties. Results will inform EFSA and Member State authorities on follow-up actions.

Funding and duration:Estimated total contract value €200,000 for an 18-month implementation period ¹.

Who can apply

Open to legal entities able to deliver laboratory analysis, prioritisation and reporting services for botanical food supplements. The contract is published by the European Food Safety Authority and tendering follows the portal's eSubmission procedures.

1. 1Contracting authority: European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).
2. 2Submission method: electronic via the Funding & Tenders Portal.

Tender documents including Invitation to Tender and Tender Specifications were published on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal; consult the official tender page for submission details and selection/award criteria EFSA tender page. ¹

Footnotes

1. 1Tender documents (Invitation to tender, Tender Specifications, Draft Contract) available on the Funding & Tenders Portal tender page linked above.

Opportunity summary

Basic facts

Type:Tender. Lead contracting authority: European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). Call identifier: EFSA/2026/OP/0006. Objective: To support EFSA’s emerging risk identification by prioritising and analysing the composition of food supplements made of plants reported to contain substances with QSAR-predicted carcinogenic, mutagenic or reprotoxic properties. The work is intended to build on existing EFSA and Member State activities and to help EFSA and Member State competent authorities decide on appropriate follow-up actions.

Deadlines:Submission deadline (final closing): 2026-08-31 14:30:59 (Europe/Rome timezone). An open tender event is scheduled for 2026-09-01 14:30 (local time). An additional earlier timestamp appears as 2026-01-01 12:30:59 in metadata but the published closing date for submissions is 2026-08-31 14:30:59 ¹.

Estimated contract value and duration:Estimated overall contract amount: €200,000. Planned contract period: 18 months (with tender validity indicated as 9 months) ¹.

Detailed eligibility, scope and requirements

This is a services contract procurement published on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal. The procurement is for analytical and prioritisation work on botanical food supplements to inform emerging risk identification related to plant-derived substances predicted by QSAR to be carcinogenic, mutagenic or reprotoxic. The public procurement documents issued with the tender include: Invitation to tender, Tender specifications, Draft contract (Annex 2) and Annex 4 (Information from referred TMA activities). Applicants must consult these documents for full technical, administrative and selection criteria.

1. 1Eligible Applicant Types: Legal entities capable of delivering laboratory analysis and scientific prioritisation work. Typical applicants: research institutes, universities, contract research organisations, specialised analytical laboratories, consulting firms with relevant scientific capacity, and other organisations meeting EFSA procurement selection criteria. Public bodies or national competent authorities can participate if allowed under procurement rules. Micro-level eligibility detail and required evidence are in the tender specifications and selection criteria sections of the procurement documents.
2. 2Funding Type: This is a procurement contract (service contract). The mechanism is not a grant, loan or equity instrument but a purchased service by EFSA. The estimated total procedure value is €200,000.
3. 3Consortium Requirement: The procurement is for a single contract (single winning tenderer). Procurement rules commonly allow joint submissions or consortia under a single tenderer model; applicants should consult the tender specifications to confirm whether consortia (consortium/consortium leader and subcontracting arrangements) are permitted and how to present selection evidence.
4. 4Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The contracting authority is EFSA; applicants from EU Member States and other countries eligible under the Funding & Tenders Portal procurement rules may participate. The tender is published on the EU portal; interested parties should check tender specifications for precise nationality/establishment rules and any requirements relating to participation of non-EU entities.
5. 5Target Sector: Food safety and public health with emphasis on botanical food supplements and chemical hazard identification. Relevant technical areas include analytical chemistry, food supplement composition analysis, toxicology, QSAR interpretation, risk prioritisation and emerging risk identification.
6. 6Project Stage: The activity focuses on targeted analytical testing, data interpretation, prioritisation and informing risk-management decisions — therefore expected project maturity is development/validation/demonstration of analytical and prioritisation outputs rather than basic research.
7. 7Funding Amount: The opportunity is for an estimated overall contract amount of €200,000 for the full contract duration (planned 18 months).
8. 8Application Type: Open procurement tender with mandatory electronic submission through the EU Funding & Tenders Portal (eSubmission). An open tender event date is given; applicants must use the Portal e-Submission method.
9. 9Nature of Support: Financial remuneration for contracted services (money provided by EFSA to the contractor under the service contract). No grant-type co-financing is indicated.
10. 10Application Stages: The procurement process involves submission, evaluation (quality and price), and award. The awarding criteria are split between quality (70) and price (30) weightings. There may be a clarification/additional information period; the official tender documents define the precise evaluation stages.
11. 11Success Rates: Not specified in the tender documents. As an open procurement, success depends on meeting selection and award criteria and competing against other bidders. No quantitative success rate is provided.
12. 12Co-funding Requirement: No co-funding is required or indicated; this is a public procurement where EFSA pays the contractor according to contract terms.
13. 13Templates and Application Forms: The published procurement package includes specific documents: Invitation to tender, Tender specifications, Draft contract (Annex 2) and Annex 4 (Information from referred TMA activities). The Portal eSubmission forms and any standard eForms required by the Funding & Tenders Portal (Funding and Tenders Portal eForms) must be used. Tender specifications will contain required supporting documentation (legal and financial capacity statements, technical offer structure, pricing schedule, CVs, references and proof of relevant laboratory accreditation where applicable).

Mentioned countries / regions:The procurement is managed by EFSA (European Union agency). The portal listing and contracting authority indicate EU scope. Specific country lists for eligibility (for example inclusion of EEA or third countries) are not reproduced in the scraped content and must be checked in the tender specifications and procurement rules on the Portal.

Selection and award information:The tendering terms indicate standard procurement selection criteria and that bidders must consult the procurement documents for precise requirements. Award criteria are quality (weight 70) and price (weight 30). Tender validity period is 9 months. Electronic ordering and payment will be used post-award.

Technical and scientific expectations:Work expected will include: prioritisation of botanical food supplement products for analysis based on existing EFSA and Member State information, targeted compositional analysis of selected products to identify the presence and concentration of substances with QSAR-predicted carcinogenic/mutagenic/reprotoxic properties, interpretation of analytical and QSAR data in a risk context, and reporting to EFSA to inform decision-making and potential follow-up by Member State competent authorities. Applicants should demonstrate capacity in analytical chemistry for botanical matrices, validated methods for relevant analytes, experience with QSAR outputs and hazard assessment, and capability to manage sample acquisition, chain of custody and data quality assurance.

How to apply and where to find documents:Submission is electronic via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal. The procurement package and all tender documents are published on the Portal (documents include Invitation to tender, Tender specifications, Draft contract and Annexes). The Portal opportunity link is provided in the listing metadata and should be used for registration, document download and e-submission.

• Required documents to prepare (typical for EFSA procurements): administrative forms, legal entity registration, financial statements or proof of financial capacity, professional and technical capacity evidence (CVs, facility accreditations, method validation reports), past performance references, technical offer describing methodology and workplan, and a detailed price proposal using the contract pricing template in the tender documents.
• Quality assessment focus: methodological robustness, laboratory accreditation and QA/QC, relevance and feasibility of the prioritisation approach, team expertise, and ability to deliver timely, well documented analytical results and interpretation.
• Contract conditions: governed by the draft contract (Annex 2) provided in the procurement documents. Bidders must review contract clauses, deliverables, reporting schedule, confidentiality, IP and data requirements, and penalties or performance terms.

Practical next steps for interested bidders:1) Register an organisational account on the Funding & Tenders Portal if not already registered; 2) Access the opportunity EFSA/2026/OP/0006 and download all procurement documents; 3) review Tender specifications and Draft contract for eligibility, selection and award criteria, and required forms; 4) prepare and submit the eSubmission package before 2026-08-31 14:30:59; 5) monitor the Portal for clarification answers and potential updates before the additional information request deadline (listed as 2026-08-21 in the procurement lot data).

Restrictions and special notes:The procurement listing shows SME suitability indicator as false. Specific restrictions relating to who may tender (nationality, exclusion grounds, required certifications) are not fully included in the scraped summary and must be checked in the Tender specifications and Invitation to tender documents available on the Portal. The procurement is listed under CPV main code 73000000 (research and experimental development services) indicating the nature of services required.

Summary:This is a competitive public procurement run by EFSA for an estimated €200,000 over an 18-month period to prioritise and chemically analyse botanical food supplements that may contain substances with QSAR-identified carcinogenic, mutagenic or reprotoxic potential. The contractor will provide laboratory analyses, data interpretation and prioritisation outputs to inform EFSA and Member State competent authorities on follow-up actions. Applicants must submit an electronic tender via the Funding & Tenders Portal by the stated deadline, follow the tender specifications and provide the required administrative, technical and financial information. Interested organisations should download and study all procurement documents available on the Portal and prepare a quality-focused technical offer and compliant financial proposal reflecting the weighting Quality 70 Price 30.

Footnotes

1. 1Procurement documents and metadata were published on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal on 2026-06-12. The tender package available online includes Invitation to tender, Tender specifications, Draft contract (Annex 2) and Annex 4. Confirm the final submission deadline and all formal requirements in the official tender specifications and Invitation to tender on the Portal Tender opportunity page.

Opportunity Overview

This EFSA tender (EFSA/2026/OP/0006) seeks a service provider to support emerging risk identification by prioritizing and analyzing the composition of plant-based food supplements containing substances with QSAR-predicted carcinogenic, mutagenic, or reprotoxic (CMR) properties ¹. The contract value is estimated at €200,000 with a duration of 18 months, aiming to build on existing EFSA and Member State activities to guide follow-up actions by competent authorities ².

Contract Value:Estimated €200,000 for an 18-month project ².

Key Deadlines:Submission deadline is 31 August 2026 at 14:30:59 CEST; additional information requests accepted until 21 August 2026 ³.

Who Should Apply

Ideal applicants include specialized analytical laboratories, food safety research institutes, or consultancies with expertise in botanical analysis, toxicology, and QSAR modeling ⁴. Tenderers may bid as single entities or in joint offers with partners, provided they can demonstrate the capacity to query national databases, contact food business operators, and perform lab composition analysis ⁵.

1. 1Expertise in botanical substance analysis and toxicology
2. 2Experience with QSAR-predicted toxicity and CMR properties
3. 3Capacity to access and query national food supplement databases
4. 4Ability to conduct laboratory composition analysis of marketed supplements

Scope of Work & Methodology

The contractor will use the EFSA Compendium of Botanicals to identify plant-based substances of concern with predicted toxicity (lacking experimental evidence) and trace back the plant species containing them ⁶. The work involves querying existing national databases of pre-market notifications, contacting Food Business Operators (FBOs) for composition data on marketed supplements, and performing lab analysis on selected products ⁵.

Eligibility & Award Criteria

Tenderers must meet specific selection criteria related to procurement documents and possess the technical capacity to execute the defined tasks ⁷. The award will be based on quality (70% weight) and price (30% weight), with quality evaluated against criteria detailed in the procurement documents ⁷.

Award Weighting:Quality: 70%, Price: 30% ⁷.

Background & Context

This tender follows a Tailor-Made Activity (TMA) initiated in 2024 to create a community of knowledge on food supplements, focusing on identifying nutrivigilance systems and mapping plant-based substances with predicted toxicity ⁶. The EU lacks a centralized authorization procedure for botanicals, making national competency critical for monitoring and safety assessment ¹³.

Footnotes

1. 1EFSA Tender Specifications: Emerging risk Identification through analysis of botanical substances in food supplements (EFSA/2026/OP/0006), available at EU Funding Portal.
2. 2Estimated Overall Contract Amount: €200,000; Duration: 18 months, per EU Funding & Tenders Portal data EU Portal Data.
3. 3Submission Deadline: 31 August 2026, 14:30:59 CEST; Additional Info Request Deadline: 21 August 2026, per Tender Specifications Tender Docs.
4. 4EFSA Compendium of Botanicals: Open-source database of plant species with substances of potential concern, used for hazard identification EFSA Compendium.
5. 5Strategy outlined in EFSA funding info session: Query national databases, contact FBOs, and perform lab analysis (JRC/MS) EFSA Info Session.
6. 6Tailor-Made Activity (TMA) 2024: Focus on identifying nutrivigilance systems and mapping plant-based substances with predicted toxicity using EFSA Compendium EFSA TMA Update.
7. 7Award Criteria: Quality (70%) and Price (30%), as per Tender Specifications Tender Docs.
8. 8EU Regulatory Context: No centralized authorization for botanicals; national competency for monitoring and safety assessment EFSA Botanicals Topic.