Serbia checking groceries for tainted milk

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BELGRADE, Serbia, Feb. 21 (UPI) -- Serbian inspectors were checking grocery shelves Thursday to see if milk products contaminated with a toxic compound were still being sold, officials said.

A list of 39 products found to have illegal amounts of aflatoxin M1, a potentially cancer-causing toxin, was released Wednesday by the Agriculture Ministry, Tanjug news agency reported.

Dejan Krnjajic, the ministry's state secretary, said the milk had become tainted by cattle eating corn contaminated with aflatoxin.

He denied media reports that 75 percent of the total corn reserves in Serbia was contaminated by the compound, saying the amount was significantly smaller.

Agriculture professor Mihajlo Ostojic said the toxin could be eliminated from dairy cattle in three to four days by changing their diet.

Radmila Resanovic, a professor of veterinary medicine, said the 0.05 micrograms per liter of aflatoxin allowed in milk by Serbia still represented a health risk. She said meat and eggs should also be inspected for the presence of aflatoxin.