Regional monitoring plan on residues of B-HCH in milk
Published on 24 March 2020
Italy
Lazio
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About this good practice
At the time of the contamination finding (2005), an important item of the economy of the contaminated area was the zootechnical production. The IZSLT was in charge to produce a veterinary surveillance plan with the objective of guaranteeing the milk safety for human consumption and the continuity of the farm activities.
The study was planned by the Epidemiological Unit and it has been reviewed periodically. The Chemical Lab of the IZSLT performs the analises.
Each year around 600/800 milk samples (bovine and ovine) are analysed. In case of positivity, a tracing back on feed and relative chemical test is carried out.
The trend of contamination in milk is constantly decreasing in terms of positive samples and concentration of B-HCH, until the apparently disappearing of the milk contamination in the last years. This is probably due to the prohibition of pasture on contaminated areas and to grow forage in the same areas, since the environmental contamination is still present.
The study was planned by the Epidemiological Unit and it has been reviewed periodically. The Chemical Lab of the IZSLT performs the analises.
Each year around 600/800 milk samples (bovine and ovine) are analysed. In case of positivity, a tracing back on feed and relative chemical test is carried out.
The trend of contamination in milk is constantly decreasing in terms of positive samples and concentration of B-HCH, until the apparently disappearing of the milk contamination in the last years. This is probably due to the prohibition of pasture on contaminated areas and to grow forage in the same areas, since the environmental contamination is still present.
Resources needed
Epidemiological study (planning and analysis): 2000 Euro
Chemical Analyses*: 60.000 Euro
*Depending on the geographical extension of the contamination
Chemical Analyses*: 60.000 Euro
*Depending on the geographical extension of the contamination
Evidence of success
Despite a permanent contamination of the soil and the river, only few farms ceased the activities, in line with the general national decreasing of the zootechnical production. At the same time, the adopted control measures and the analytical controls along the years, lead to a resetting of the evidences of contamination of milk by Beta HCH. This was an important goal for the Regional food safety Authorities.
Potential for learning or transfer
Potentially, in each contaminated site, any type of animal food production could be present. Therefore, it is crucial, according to the EU 178/2002 regulation, to guarantee the safety of the production, since the prohibition of rearing farm animals would be too costly. Moreover, the animal biomonitoring was ascertained as one of the most effective way to detect and monitor the environmental contamination by anthropic origin. That is the reason why we suggest to implement a monitoring plan on the concentration of residues of Lindano in the animal production.
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Organisation
Lazio Region
Italy
Lazio
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