Italy to recall contaminated mozzarella

(ROME) - The Italian government on Friday decided to begin recalling dioxin-tainted mozzarella from the market after the European Commission warned it could follow Japan and South Korea's lead in imposing an import ban on the cheese.

"The government this morning will take the steps agreed with the European Union to withdraw from the market products that do not comply with standards and renew assurances to Italian and foreign consumers," Foreign Minister Massimo D'Alema said, quoted by the ANSA news agency.

He was speaking as the French government impounded shipments of mozzarella made from buffalo milk in Italy's southern Campania region.

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.

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

The European Commission called late Thursday for urgent action and warned of unspecified steps against Italy's poorest region.

"The commission believes that the measures put in place are not sufficient to ensure that no contaminated product enters the market," a statement said.

This was, it said, because "no recall of product potentially contaminated has been carried out and the surveillance programme on the farms of the Campania region is still too limited."

The Commission said it could propose "safeguard measures for dairy products orginating from the region of Campania" if it deems new measures to be insufficient.

Italy produces 33,000 tonnes of mozzarella per year, some 80 percent of it in Campania, where a quarter of a million buffalo are farmed to produce milk for the product.