Skopje, 11 May 2023 (MIA) — The national dairy safety system has not been disrupted: As part of the country's animal disease control and eradication programs, clinical exams are also done, and laboratory tests are only one way to determine the health status of farm animals, the Food and Veterinary Agency said in response to allegations by VMRO-DPMNE's Cvetan Tripunovski that there had been no recent public procurement for the needs of laboratory testing for brucellosis.

"Livestock farmers monitor the health status of their farm animals," the agency said, adding that farmers were bound by law to report any changes in their animals' health status to veterinary authorities.

"Raw milk that enters the production process is required to be thermally processed (sterilized or pasteurized), which eliminates the possibility of Brucella-contaminated milk to enter the production chain," the agency said, reiterating that the bacteria was destroyed by thermal processing.

As part of its food safety control procedures, the Food and Veterinary Agency also monitors the safety of all final products, the agency said. mr/