Paris Mar. 28 - France's Health Ministry is ordering stores to stop selling some mozzarella from Italy because of a dioxin scare.
The ministry says it wants to carry out tests on the mozzarella to see whether it is safe. The French order concerns mozzarella made from buffalo milk in the Campania region.
The ministry is calling Friday's order "a precautionary measure" pending tests.
Samples of the cheese have been found to contain higher-than-permitted levels of dioxins under European food safety rules. The European Union has warned Italy to take further action to ensure that dioxin-tainted mozzarella does not end up on store shelves.