The adoption of the practices and procedures in the manual will assist microbiology laboratories in acquiring the recognition of competence required for certification or accreditation and will also enhance the quality of the microbiological data generated by feed analysis laboratories. In addition, ensuring good laboratory practices presented in the document will enhance the health and safety of the laboratory workers, protect the environment from laboratory-discharged pollutants and increase the efficiency of laboratories. The document will also provide a strong base for microbiology laboratories on which they can develop a system which will meet the requirements of international standards.