The National Food Authority, AKU, has ordered the withdrawal from the market of milk from two dairies, Primalat and Fast, fearing contamination by the potentially dangerous aflatoxin, M1.

Besar Likmeta

 

BIRN

 Tirana

Shelves with milk emptied | Photo by : AP /Elise Amendola

“Initial results from the food safety laboratory make us suspect a higher concentration of aflatoxin than the European Union allows,” Albania's Ministry of Agriculture said, referring to tests on milk.

“AKU has held a meeting with the dairies and has asked them to voluntarily withdraw their products from the market,” it added.

Aflatoxins are produced by mould and can damage human and animal health if they enter the food chain in significant concentrations.

The ministry underlined that the test results remain preliminary, because the Albanian food safety laboratory is not certified to test aflatoxin.

Reports that milk in the Balkans has been contaminated by a dangerous toxin have triggered a major health scare throughout the region.

Albania’s decision comes after Kosovo’s Agency of Food and Veterinary, AUV, ordered the removal of milk produced by five diaries, including the two Albanian producers, after initial tests suggested possible contamination by the toxin.

Bosnia, Croatia, Macedonia and Montenegro have already taken out of the market milk produced by Croatian diaries, Dukat and Vindija , after analysis in Vienna showed that the amount of M1 in the milk was 0.006 per cent, slightly higher than the legally permitted limit of 0.005 per cent.sis