Contaminated animal feed from Serbia has been discovered in the Netherlands at five pig farms, food safety body NVWA reports.

Three other farms have received contaminated feed from Romania, says the organisation.

The feed contains corn contaminated with aflatoxin, which can cause cancer. It was first discovered in Germany last Friday, where the food safety authority said a possible 6,500 farms are involved.

Rotterdam

Because some of the feed was transported via Rotterdam port, the NVWA began an investigation into the spread of the feed in the Netherlands.

The organisation says there is no danger to public health. The corn is mixed with other grains so that the animals do not ingest more aflatoxin than is allowed.

There is also no sign that contaminated feed has reached dairy farms, the food safety body said.

According to Euronews, Aflatoxin is one of the most carcinogenic substances in nature. Produced by fungus that grows on hay or grains it shows up in the milk of animals that ingest it.