(PARIS) - France on Friday impounded shipments of imported mozzarella cheese after the European Commission said Italy had not done enough to fight dioxin contamination.

Citing EU concerns, Agriculture Minister Michel Barnier asked "all professionals to immediately impound the products concerned pending additional information," a statement from the agriculture ministry said.

"In the coming days and as a precautionary measure, tests will be carried out on shipments of mozzarella made with buffalo milk from Campania," said the statement.

Italian authorities said last week that high levels of dioxin, which increases the risk of cancer, were found in 66 buffalo herds around the city of Naples.

A total of 83 buffalo farms in the Naples region were quarantined.

But the European Commission said Thursday that "the measures put in place are not sufficient to ensure that no contaminated product enters the market."

Italian authorities have said that no tainted mozzarella has been exported.

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