Laying flocks shall be sampled at the initiative of the food business operator and by the competent authority.
Sampling at the initiative of the food business operator shall take place at least every 15 weeks. The first sampling shall take place at the flock-age of 24 +/– 2 weeks.
Sampling by the competent authority shall take place at least:
in one flock per year per holding comprising at least 1 000 birds;
at the age of 24 +/– 2 weeks in laying flocks housed in buildings where the relevant Salmonella was detected in the preceding flock;
in any case of suspicion of Salmonella infection when investigating food-borne outbreaks in accordance with Article 8 of Directive 2003/99/EC or any cases where the competent authority considers it appropriate, using the sampling protocol laid down in point 4(b) of Part D to Annex II to Regulation (EC) No 2160/2003;
in all other laying flocks on the holding in case Salmonella Enteritidis or Salmonella Typhimurium is detected in one laying flock on the holding;
in cases where the competent authority considers it appropriate.
A sampling carried out by the competent authority may replace one sampling at the initiative of the food business operator.
In order to maximise the sensitivity of the sampling, and to ensure the correct application of the sampling protocol, the competent authority or the food business operator shall ensure that samples are taken by trained persons.
Boot swabs used must be sufficiently absorptive to soak up moisture. The surface of the boot swab must be moistened using appropriate diluents.
The samples must be taken while walking through the house using a route that produces representative samples for all parts of the house or the respective sector. This shall include littered and slatted areas provided that slats are safe to walk on. All separate pens within a house must be included in the sampling. On completion of the sampling in the chosen sector, boot swabs must be removed carefully so as not to dislodge adherent material.
At least one sample must be collected using the sampling protocol in addition to samples referred to under point 2.2.1. Further samples shall be taken in order to ensure representative sampling if required by the distribution or the size of the flock.
In the case of sampling referred to in point 2.1(b), (c), (d) and (e), the competent authority shall satisfy itself by conducting further checks, namely by laboratory tests and/or documentary checks as appropriate to ensure that the results of examinations for Salmonella in birds are not affected by the use of antimicrobials in the flocks.
Where the presence of Salmonella Enteritidis and Salmonella Typhimurium is not detected but antimicrobials or bacterial growth inhibitory effects are detected it shall be considered and accounted for as an infected laying flock for the purpose of the Union target.
The competent authority may decide to allow replacement of one faecal sample or one pair of boot swabs by a dust sample of 100 grams collected from multiple places throughout the house from surfaces with a visible presence of dust. As an alternative one or several moistened fabric swab(s) of at least 900 cm2 surface area in total may be used instead to gather dust from multiple surfaces throughout the house, ensuring that each swab is well coated with dust on both sides.
The competent authority may decide to increase the minimum number of samples in order to ensure representative sampling on a case-by-case evaluation of epidemiological parameters, namely the biosecurity conditions, the distribution or size of the flock or other relevant conditions.