Italy has made satisfactory progress in controlling cases of mozzarella cheese found contaminated by cancer-causing dioxins and is not facing any EU trade ban, the European Commission said today.
The Commission had demanded Italy take “urgent measures” in response to a contaminated mozzarella scare. It accused the authorities of doing too little to ensure that no contaminated mozzarella goes on sale and warned of a Europe-wide ban on the sale of the cheese.
The threat was lifted today, however. "The Commission is satisfied with the progress made and continues its intensive contacts with the Italian authorities," Nina Papadoulaki, the Commission's health spokeswoman, told a daily news conference. "Taking into account the information that was given today, there is no reason at this stage to take further action at EU level," she said.
Italian Agriculture Minister Paolo De Castro insisted yesterday there was no health problem surrounding mozzarella and ate some in front of the cameras to prove his point.
The mozzarella in question is produced in the Campania region of Italy, which includes the city of Naples. The region is suffering a prolonged waste-management problem exacerbated by the dumping of illegal industrial toxic waste from the north.
The waste industry in the region is under Mafia control, and the crisis is believed to have generated contamination now infiltrating the prized buffalo mozzarella sector.
Already domestic sales have fallen by about one third, with a consequent drop in mozzarella prices.
Japan and South Korea have already banned the cheese.
PA