This document specifies the minimum requirements for generating and analysing whole genome sequencing (WGS) data of bacteria obtained from the food chain. This process can include the following stages: a) handling of bacterial cultures; b) axenic genomic DNA isolation; c) library preparation, sequencing, and assessment of raw DNA sequence read quality and storage; d) bioinformatics analysis for determining genetic relatedness, genetic content and predicting phenotype, and bioinformatics pipeline validation; e) metadata capture and sequence repository deposition; f) validation of the end-to-end WGS workflow (fit for purpose for intended application). This document is applicable to bacteria isolated from: — products intended for human consumption; — products intended for animal feed; — environmental samples from food and feed handling and production areas; — samples from the primary production stage.