---
title: "National Diet and Nutrition Survey (NDNS) Review"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-078d63"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-078d63"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-078d63.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-078d63.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "Food Standards Agency"
published: "2026-10-22"
---

# National Diet and Nutrition Survey (NDNS) Review

Buyer: Food Standards Agency  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-078d63

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## Summary

The Food Standards Agency commissioned a review of the UK National Diet and Nutrition Survey (NDNS), a rolling survey of diet, nutrient intake and nutritional status across the general population. The work investigates possible changes to the survey methodology to improve the data available for food-safety exposure assessments, while maintaining the survey’s usefulness to other stakeholders. Exposure assessment combines food-consumption information with measurements of substances such as contaminants, food additives and pesticide residues in food. The NDNS is jointly funded by the Department of Health and Social Care’s Office for Health Improvement and Disparities and the Food Standards Agency. This is research and development consultancy work, delivered for the FSA; the supplier is Cambridge University Technical Services Limited, based in Cambridge.

The procurement is complete and the contract has been awarded to Cambridge University Technical Services Limited. The FSA used a below-threshold direct award without competition. The contract was signed on 21 October 2026 and runs from 1 November 2026 to 31 March 2027, with an option for the buyer to extend it by up to six weeks by giving at least 10 working days’ written notice before expiry. The contract value is £49,551.05 excluding VAT (£59,461.26 including VAT). The procurement comprised one lot. The published information does not state an evaluation basis or eligibility criteria.

For suppliers considering future work for the FSA, this award signals demand for specialist research and development consultancy on national diet and nutrition survey methods. Credible providers would need to understand how survey design and dietary data support food-safety exposure assessment, including the combination of consumption data with concentration data for contaminants, additives and pesticide residues. They would also need to develop methodological recommendations that improve usefulness for the FSA while preserving the survey’s value to other stakeholders. The selected supplier is a large Cambridge-based technical services organisation, providing a benchmark for the institutional capability involved. This was awarded directly without competition, so the award does not establish a competitive scoring model or stated formal qualification requirements.

## Notice

As part of the FSA's commitment to ensure food is safe and is what it says it is, the FSA undertakes food safety risk assessments in line with the internationally recognised 'Codex Working Principles for Risk Analysis for Food Safety'. A key component of food safety risk assessment is exposure assessment, which estimates the amount of a hazard consumed through the diet. Exposure assessment combines food consumption data with information on the concentrations of substances such as contaminants, food additives or pesticide residues in food to estimate the levels consumers may be exposed to. UK consumption data is primarily obtained from the UK National Diet and Nutrition Survey (NDNS). The NDNS is a rolling programme of surveys designed to assess the diet, nutrient intake and nutritional status of the general population of the UK. The NDNS is a co funded by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) and FSA. This project is to investigate potential changes to the methodology used in the NDNS, to optimize the data collected for use in exposure assessment for food safety risk assessment, while ensuring the survey continues to meet the requirements of other stakeholders.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/099736-2026 |
| Notice type | UK7 - Contract Details Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Direct |
| Procurement method details | Below threshold - without competition |
| Tender suitability | Not specified |
| Awardee scale | Large |
| All stages | Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 22 Oct 2026 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | Not specified |
| Contract period | 1 Nov 2026 - 31 Mar 2027 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | Not specified |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | Not specified |
| Contracts value | £49,551 |

## Status

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender status | Complete |
| Lots status | Complete |
| Awards status | Active |
| Contracts status | Active |

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | Food Standards Agency |
| Locality | YORK |
| Postcode area | York |
| Postcode | YO1 7PR |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLE Yorkshire and The Humber |
| ITL 2 | TLE2 North Yorkshire |
| ITL 3 | TLE21 York |
| Local authority | York |
| Electoral ward | Guildhall |
| Westminster constituency | York Central |
| Delivery location | Not specified |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | Cambridge University Technical Services Limited |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 73 - Research and development services and related consultancy services

### Codes

- 73200000 - Research and development consultancy services

## Release History

- 22 Oct 2026 at 08:03 - Award - UK7 - Contract Details Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/099736-2026

## Documents

- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/099736-2026
  22nd October 2026 - Contract details notice on Find a Tender

## Notice URLs

- https://www.food.gov.uk/
- https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/contents

## Provenance

This Markdown file is an alternate public rendering of the D3 Tenders contract record. The canonical page is https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-078d63. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-078d63.json.