The Dodoni dairy company said yesterday that it was setting aside all the milk supplied by its producers in Ioannina, northwestern Greece, amid fears that it may have become contaminated after a fire at a rubbish dump in the area.

The firm, one of Greece’s top milk, cheese and yogurt manufacturers, took the precautionary measure on the recommendation of the local prefecture.

Samples of the milk will be sent to Athens so scientists can establish whether levels of dioxins, which can cause cancer, are too high for human consumption after the fire at the Dourouti landfill.

A fire that burned at the Tagarades dump near Thessaloniki last year led to milk produced by animals in the area being seized and destroyed because dioxin levels were too high.