21 March, 2008 - Sales of mozzarella in Italy have plummeted by 50% after dioxins were found in at least 80 herds of buffalo whose milk is used to produce the cheese.
The animals and their produce have become contaminated after grazing on land where high levels of the potentially fatal toxins had been dumped.
In a bid to control the panic that has gripped consumers, the Italian Government has quarantined the animals while it carries outs further tests. Government experts are now analysing milk samples extracted from some 2,000 herds in the Caserta region, just north of the southern city of Naples.
It is believed the dioxins could have entered the food chain after local mafia, the Camorra, have been illegally dumping toxic waste in the region.
The Government has said the scare only affects a small proportion of the buffalo population used to produce milk for the famous Italian cheese and said consumers would have to eat large quantities of the cheese for many months for there to be any health risk.
However, farmers’ associations in the region have reported a drastic slump in sales since the scandal hit the headlines.