Italian mozzarella scandal may lead to resignation
(ROME) - The head of an Italian buffalo mozzarella makers' consortium, put under watch after inspectors discovered traces of cow milk in samples of the product, said Sunday he was planning to resign.
Luigi Chianese said he would wait until the end of the three-month watch period before leaving as cooperation was the only way "to eliminate doubts over an affair totally distorted by the media".
The consortium's mozzarella is sold in Italy and around the world under the European Union's Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) label, meaning a product must be produced in a given geographical area using recognised procedures.
However, analysis of buffalo mozzarella under the PDO label detected the presence of traces of cow milk in about 100 samples out of the 530 purchased at points of sale throughout Italy.
Agriculture Minister Luca Zaia passed a decree last week placing the consortium under watch.
The investigation will involve inspections at all 130 members of the consortium, of whom around 15 have already been identified as breaking the rules -- including Chianese.
A committee of inspectors from the agriculture ministry and scientists will carry out tests of the products and the producers under investigation will be allowed to present counter-evidence.
"It is only at the end of these evaluations (...) that I will be able to resign serenely", said Chianese in a statement.
He also questioned the "real reasons" motivating the investigation of the consortium.
Minister Zaia is a candidate for the majority centre-right in regional elections scheduled at the end of March.
Mozzarella was at the centre of a health scare in 2008 when samples of the cheese were found to have raised levels of dioxin, which increases the likelihood of cancer.
More than 100 buffalo mozzarella farms were quarantined and several countries temporarily banned imports of the popular cheese which is often used for pizzas.
Zaia said the investigation this time was not prompted by health concerns but to protect the "Made in Italy" label.
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