MAFF to probe milk after bacteria scare

11 August 1998

MAFF to probe milk after bacteria scare

By FWi staff

THE Government has launched a nationwide survey of milk quality following fears that it contains a harmful bacteria linked to Crohns disease.

Officials from the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF) will test at least 1,000 samples of milk over an 18-month period.

The samples will be analysed for the presence of mycobacterium paratuberculosis, believed by some scientists to causes Crohns Disease.

Previous research has indicated that pasteurisation destroys the organism. But initial results from a small number of milk samples suggests that small quantities of the bacteria can survive the pasteurisation process.

Crohns Disease, a chronic inflammation of the small intestine, affects about 80,000 people in the UK. The disease can lead to tumours and three-quarters of sufferers eventually need surgery.