scope:

This document defines general rules for the enumeration of lactobacilli in feeding stuffs (additives, premixtures and compound feeds excluding mineral feeds) that contain lactobacilli as a single microorganism component or in a mixture with other microorganisms. Applying the method to compound feeds with critical amounts of copper demands a special procedure (see Annex A). The document is not applicable to mineral feeds, which are defined as complementary feeding stuffs composed mainly of minerals and containing at least 40 % crude ash (Regulation R767/2009) [3].

There are different categories of feed samples:

a) Additives containing about 10¹⁰ colony forming units (CFU)/g;

b) Premixtures containing about 10¹¹ CFU/kg;

c) Compound feeds, meal or pellets, which contain about 10⁹ CFU/kg.