Ultimatum for Italy in Cheese Dioxin Scare

Brussels yesterday increased pressure on Italy to provide details about the scale of a potential crisis over links between cheese and cancer, warning that buffalo mozzarella could be banned across the EU.

The European commission demanded more information from the Italian authorities on carcinogenic dioxins found in buffalo mozzarella made in the Naples area, and set the Italian government a deadline for compliance.

A commission health spokeswoman said buffalo mozzarella could be removed from supermarket shelves across the EU and that Italy faced a European export ban unless Brussels' conditions were met.

Japan and South Korea have already banned imports of the fine cheese made from buffalo herds in the Campania region of southern Italy.

Italy disclosed last week that high levels of dioxins - mostly poisonous chemical byproducts of the manufacture of herbicides and bactericides - were found in the milk of 66 herds of buffalo around Naples. However, none of the tainted cheese had been exported, Italian officials said.

Paolo De Castro, Italy's farming minister, blamed the media for a food scare that has seen Italian sales of mozzarella slump by 30%. In between mouthfuls of the cheese, he said: "The produce has been seized, so there is no health risk." But he confirmed that 83 of 1,900 buffalo dairy farms had been affected by the findings.

The commission demanded that all contaminated cheese be taken off the market immediately and asked for the names of the affected farms, a list of the tainted products, and an explanation of what the Italians were doing to prevent further contamination. Italy was given until last night to meet Brussels' requirements.