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Open tender · Notice 098446-2026

Effect of probiotics on Campylobacter colonisation within the broiler gut

Food Standards Agency

Value
£500k
Closes
30 Nov 2026 (22 days)
Where
UK-wide
Lots
1
Suitable for SMEs
Yes, says the buyer
Contract
1 Apr 2027 – 31 Mar 2029

In plain English

The Food Standards Agency wants a research team to run a field trial in commercial intensive broiler chicken houses, testing whether probiotics reduce or delay Campylobacter in the gut of flocks and on carcasses at processing. It also wants to know the effect on welfare and production, such as mortality, growth rate and feed conversion; the work runs from 1 April 2027 to 31 March 2029 with an estimated value of £500,000.

Good fit for: Research organisations, universities or specialist poultry and food-safety consultancies with access to commercial broiler farms and laboratory capacity.

The catch (with the notice's own words):
  • Project may be stopped after each phase If not, then the FSA reserves the right to terminate the project.
  • Multi-phase study with review points We envisage that the proposed study design will consist of several discrete phases.

Written with AI from the official notice. Check the notice before relying on it.

What the buyer says

A key component of the FSA work is to reduce the burden of foodborne disease in the UK. Campylobacter is the leading bacterial cause of foodborne disease in the UK, with chicken meat being the most common food source of exposure to this pathogen. Campylobacter is widespread in chicken farms, with 60% of UK broilers flocks carrying the pathogen at the point they are slaughtered. Interventions further down the food chain do not reliably eliminate this pathogen. Therefore, reducing Campylobacter colonisation on broiler flocks and contamination on chicken meat is a priority area for the FSA as this will contribute towards reducing human exposure and subsequent reported cases of foodborne disease. A clear evidence gap remains on whether probiotics can consistently affect Campylobacter levels in broilers, across commercial UK farms under routine production conditions, and what magnitude of log reduction is realistically achievable. To address this evidence gap, the FSA are seeking research proposals for an innovative field-trial based study carried out in real-life intensive broiler houses to assess the effectiveness of a range of probiotics on reducing or delaying Campylobacter colonisation in the gut of broiler flocks. The research should be designed to answer the following questions: • “To what extent can commercially available probiotic formulations reduce or delay Campylobacter colonisation in broiler flocks under commercial intensive housed farming conditions, and does this translate into reduced Campylobacter contamination of carcasses at processing?” • “What is the effect of these formulations on welfare and production performance indicators such as mortality, growth rate, feed conversion efficiency and flock health outcomes?” We envisage that the proposed study …

Read the official notice Tender documents

Getting the documents

health-family.force.com/s/Welcome (linked from the notice).

Procedure: Open procedure (Open: anyone can bid, in one stage). Published 19 Oct 2026.

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