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Italy: EU Mozzarella cheese ban looms
 (AKI) - The European Commission set a Thursday deadline for the Italian authorities to supply further details of buffalo mozzarella production after samples were found to have higher than permitted levels of cancer-causing dioxins. The commission has said it does not rule out some form of ban on Italian buffalo mozzarella. "The information we received is incomplete, much is missing. This is why we sent a letter to Rome yesterday evening," spokeswoman Nina Papadoulaki told Adnkronos International (AKI). "We want information on all the dairies involved, a list of distributors of all the contaminated products, so we can know which countries and regions they have been sent to, and the immediate recall of all the contaminated products." "We also want systematic monitoring of all the farms and equipment that may have been contaminated, to ensure no contaminated cheese enters the market," Papadoulaki said. The highly popular mozzarella cheese is made from buffalo milk in the southern Campania region, where there are fears the cheese may have been contaminated by dioxins and other chemicals from illegally dumped toxic waste. Papadoulaki said four farms and 23 dairies had been found to be contaminated, according to information supplied from Rome. Posted by: Fred 2008-03-28 |
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