A baseline survey on the prevalence of Salmonella in breeding
and production holdings in the EU (EFSA, 2009) was carried out
by sampling selected holdings through the use of fresh voided
pooled faecal samples. Samples were tested by the National Reference
Laboratory (or an authorized laboratory) using the latest ISO
6579:2002 Annex D method (ISO, 2007). At EU level, 28.7% of
breeding holdings were Salmonella positive but among the Member
States a wide variation (0–64%) exists. The EU prevalence in the
production holdings was 33.3% (range 0–55.7%) among the Member
States (EFSA, 2009). At country level, there was a strong and
significant positive association between the Salmonella prevalence
at breeding and production holdings (EFSA, 2011).