North Macedonia blocks import of 27.5 tons of unsafe milk from Kosovo

North Macedonia's Food and Veterinary Agency has successfully prevented the import of a significant quantity of unsafe milk from Kosovo. Two shipments, totaling 27,520 kilograms of UHT milk, were turned back at the Blace border crossing last week.

The agency found that the milk contained aflatoxin levels above the permitted concentrations. Aflatoxin is a toxic substance produced by certain molds that can contaminate food and pose serious health risks.

Following the discovery, the entire consignment of unsafe milk, intended for sale in North Macedonian markets, was safely destroyed at the Skopje landfill known as 'Drisla'.

These actions were taken as part of the agency's ongoing monitoring program for food of animal origin imported into the country. The agency also adopted a decision on July 17 to implement special safety measures for milk and dairy products, intensifying official controls and requiring mandatory laboratory testing for such imports.