The aflatoxin M1 crisis in the Serbian dairy sector: the year after

ABSTRACT

During the last 3 years, high aflatoxin M1 (AFM1) concentrations in milk and dairy products occurred in Serbia. It resulted in periodical change of the official regulations regarding maximum levels (MLs) of AFM1 as set by the Serbian Government. The aim of this study was to compare the occurrence of AFM1 in raw milk and dairy products during 2015 and also to determine whether there were some differences in AFM1 level among seasons. The AFM1 level exceeded the European Union ML in 29.3% of raw milk and 4.2% of milk product samples. The highest level of AFM1 in raw milk was found during the autumn season, while during the rest of the 2015, it was significantly lower. Although the improvement of dairy products safety was evident in 2015 when compared to 2013 and 2014, the cause of high concentrations in raw milk remained unresolved yet. This study indicates that dairy plants introduced control measures and refused reception of too high contaminated raw milk.

KEYWORDS:

• Aflatoxin M1
• raw milk
• dairy products
• season
• Serbia

Acknowledgements

This study was supported with project No. 46009, financed by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological development of the Republic of Serbia and AREA project No. 316004 financed by the EU.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported with project No. 46009, financed by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological development of the Republic of Serbia and AREA project No. 316004 financed by the EU.