Carry on enjoying mozzarella
Reading the papers over the last week you couldn’t help but notice that the Italian buffalo mozzarella industry is having a hard time at the moment. High dioxin levels in some buffalo mozzarella from the Campania region of Italy near Naples have led some countries to announce restrictions on the import of this specialty food.
The Agency was asked whether we would be taking similar action. In short, we’re not. At the moment we’re not aware that any of the affected buffalo mozzarella is for sale over here. In fact, we understand that only a tiny amount of exports are potentially affected. It is some establishments in the Naples area, where illegal dumping is increasing the dioxin levels, that are reporting problems. According to the food industry they represent less than two per cent of total Italian production, with very little exported. The food industry has also told us that the only buffalo mozzarella, from Campania, sold in the UK is classed as protected designation of origin (DOP) and labelled accordingly. This DOP mozzarella is already subject to testing for dioxins.
This is not to say we are being complacent. My colleagues in the Agency have been monitoring this situation closely for some time now and have been liaising with our European counterparts to ensure that we get early warning of any affected products entering the UK. In fact the Agency, Europe, and the food industry have very good systems in place for identifying any potential problems. Also, with the Italian authorities carrying out additional sampling of buffalo mozzarella from the region, we are confident that if there is any distribution of contaminated buffalo mozzarella over here, we will be alerted via the EU's rapid alert system.
One final point about this story. It is only buffalo mozzarella from Campania that is under scrutiny, not all mozzarella. So carry on enjoying mozzarella, buffalo or otherwise, and be assured that we are working hard to identify and warn you of any potential problems.
