Aflatoxin in milk: Government raises the permitted limit
Category: Victims of negligence
Period: Feb 2013 – 2026
Outcome: No one investigated (as of 10 Oct 2013)
When tests in February 2013 showed elevated levels of the carcinogen aflatoxin M1 in most milk samples on sale, the Government of Serbia raised the permitted limit tenfold, from the European 0.05 to 0.5 micrograms per kilogram. The announced return of the limit to 0.05 within 15 days never happened, and the damage has been estimated at 100 to 125 million euros. No criminal proceedings against any officials have been found, and lowering the limit to the European level has been postponed, most recently until 1 December 2026.
Aflatoxin in milk
In February 2013, tests published by the provincial secretary for agriculture Goran Ješić showed elevated levels of carcinogenic aflatoxin M1 in most samples of milk on sale in Serbia. The toxin got into the milk through corn contaminated after the 2012 drought.
The Ministry of Agriculture withdrew some batches of milk, and minister Goran Knežević (SNS) assured the public that the milk was safe.
Limit raised tenfold
On 28 February 2013, the Government of Serbia amended the regulation and raised the permitted limit tenfold, from the European 0.05 to 0.5 micrograms per kilogram. Laboratories in Germany and the Netherlands then showed that some samples exceeded even the new limit.
The Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia estimated the damage at €100 million to €125 million.
Dismissals and a broken promise
First Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Vučić announced dismissals and a return of the limit to 0.05 within 15 days, which was not carried out. The Government dismissed two agency directors, and Knežević left the ministry in the government reshuffle in August 2013.
The limit was brought back to 0.05 only in 2014 or 2015, and since 2018 at the latest a limit of 0.25 has applied. Lowering it to the European level has been postponed year after year, most recently until 1 December 2026.
A complaint against the man who raised the alarm
No criminal proceedings against any official have been found. On the contrary, Knežević filed a criminal complaint against Ješić, while Ješić claims that his complaints against the ministry have gone nowhere.
Participants
- Goran Knežević: As agriculture minister, he raised the permitted limit of aflatoxin in milk tenfold, to 0.5 micrograms, and claimed the milk was safe (responsible)
- Government of the Republic of Serbia: Raised the permitted limit of aflatoxin in milk tenfold, and since 2018 has postponed the return to the European 0.05 every year (responsible)
- Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management of the Republic of Serbia: It withdrew suspect batches of milk from sale, and in 2024 justified postponing the lowering of the limit to the European 0.05 (commented on the case)
- Aleksandar Vučić: Announced at least four dismissals and a return of the limit to 0.05 within 15 days (commented on the case)
- Danilo Golubović: He claimed that no one's health was at risk and disputed the province's authority to inspect milk (commented on the case)
- Jan Boćanski: On 7 March 2013, the Government dismissed him as director of the Veterinary Directorate, along with the director of the Plant Protection Directorate (harmed)
- Ivan Soč: On 7 March 2013, the Government dismissed him as director of the Plant Protection Directorate, along with the director of the Veterinary Directorate (harmed)
- Slobodan Šibalić: According to Ješić, he was the only official suspended in the affair and was reinstated as head of the Veterinary Directorate in September 2013 (commented on the case)
- Dragan Glamočić: On 31 March 2014, he signed a regulation returning the aflatoxin limit in milk to the European level of 0.05 micrograms (commented on the case)
- Snežana Bogosavljević Bošković: She published a proposed limit of 0.25 micrograms, five times higher than the European one, and claimed that milk would still be safe (commented on the case)
- Goran Ješić: He published test results showing elevated aflatoxin in 29 of 35 milk samples (oversight and the public)
- Provincial Government of AP Vojvodina: She opposed raising the limit and commissioned a milk analysis from a laboratory in Munich (oversight and the public)
Sources