Dairy producer Danone recently announced it would withdraw several products from the Romanian market as a precautionary measure after it emerged that they could be contaminated with aflatoxins toxic carcinogenic substances. The dairy maker also blocked 75 tonnes of products in its warehouses after discovering aflatoxin in the milk delivered by one of its suppliers. The news follows the withdrawal of milk from shops after alflatoxins were found in two batches of milk.

Danone's measure was for safety reasons and company representatives said withdrawing the products from the shelves of Romanian companies was to be done by the end of today (Monday, March 18 ). According to Romania media, the products which Danone asked to be withdrawn are Musli Yoghurt, sour cream and natural yoghurt.

The earlier dairy scare concerned batches of milk containing toxic and highly carcinogenic aflatoxins. One batch came for Hungary, while the other consignment of milk was produced locally, according to local news reports.

“Milk containing carcinogenic aflatoxins, some imported from Hungary and the rest processed in Romania, has been identified and removed from the market,” said the Minister of Agriculture Daniel Constantin.

The discovery of the aflatoxins in the milk was the result of testing across the food supply industry and the Minister said there was no danger to the public as the contaminated milk had been withdrawn. Aflatoxins are naturally occurring and are produced by some types of aspergillus fungi. The fungi can grow on grains and aflatoxins can be found in the milk of animals that have eaten infected feed.

The discovery of carcinogenic aflatoxins in milk last week has scared off Romanian consumers, according to public relations firm Rogalski Grigoriu. Two in five consumers did not buy milk last week and less than half of the respondents surveyed by Rogalski Grigoriu thought the milk in shops was safe. Meanwhile, the vice-president of Romania veterinary and food safety authority (ANSVSA) Vladimir Mănăstireanu has issued assurances that the milk on the shelves in Romania is safe.

editor@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Danone)