The incidence of contamination of aflatoxin M1 (AFM1) in milk and milk products samples collected in
Serbia was investigated by using the competitive enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) technique.
A total of 1438 samples composed of 678 raw milk, 438 heat treated milk and 322 milk product
samples that were analyzed during the period of 2013e2014, including all seasons. The AFM1 levels
exceeded the European Union maximum residue permitted amount (EU MRL) in 56.3% raw milk, 32.6%
heat treated milk and 37.8% of milk product samples. Milk powders had the highest mean AFM1 concentration
(0.847 mg/kg) of all types of milk products examined. Mean concentration of AFM1 in raw milk
samples during the period of winter in Serbia was 0.358 mg/kg and did not significantly differ from the
mean concentrations of 0.375 mg/kg during the spring. However, the AFM1 raw milk concentration in the
summer (0.039 mg/kg) and autumn season (0.103 mg/kg) was significantly lower. Seasonal variation of
AFM1 concentrations in heat treated milk samples followed the trend observed in raw milk. Mean raw
milk AFM1 concentration has dropped down by 10 fold from 0.314 mg/kg in 2013 to 0.035 mg/kg in 2014.
The fraction of raw milk samples exceeding the EU MRL has decreased from 62.3% to 11.5% by the end of