January 26, 2012

Turkey to implement new milk monitoring system

Turkey has developed a new system, which will be adopted by the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Animal Husbandry, to monitor milk safety more intensively.

After widely reported remarks by Food, Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Minister Mehdi Eker that antibiotic residue and aflatoxin M1 may have been detected in samples of milk brands inspected by ministry officials, the safety of milk has come under public scrutiny.

Although Eker rejected media reports by saying the necessary legal procedures had been taken against those firms whose products fell below the ministry's standards and the risk to society was minimal, public concerns about the safety of milk remain.

Turkey Milk Producers Union (TSÃœMB) Chairman Ali Koyuncu said that they have developed a new system which will enable the ministry to monitor milk production and treatment processes more intensively. This will help to ensure the safety and reliability of milk, a widely consumed product in Turkey.

"Milk will be monitored from the moment it is produced on the farm to the moment of packaging in the factory," Koyuncu explained. Highlighting that they recently presented the system to the ministry, Koyuncu said that under the current plans a digital card will be issued to every milk producer, which will register the movement of milk throughout the process of distribution and processing.

According to Koyuncu, as a result the TSÃœMB will know when and where the milk was produced, how long it had been stored in refrigerated tanks and when the milk was delivered to a factory. "Using this card, the TSÃœMB can immediately know the name of the producer and to which company it sold its products," he noted.

Koyuncu said the new system will be an effective step forward for the issue of food safety in Turkey, adding that the aim of the system is to provide milk that meets hygiene standards and ensures it remains safe all the way from farms to consumers.

Announcing that the new system is likely to be implemented next month, Koyuncu also said it will incorporate a mandatory training and licensing system for workers involved in the transport of milk from dairy farms to processing and packaging plants.

According to Koyuncu, over 5 million tonnes of milk are currently being sold unrecorded without undergoing necessary inspections, adding that the ministry conducted 5,960 inspections of dairy farms and processing plants in 2011. During these inspections, 584 milk producers were fined for not meeting hygiene and health requirements.