Berlin, Mar. 28 - A German government spokeswoman said Friday there is no need to remove Italian mozzarella from store shelves because the tainted cheese was never circulated in Germany.
"The information we have says the cheese was only marketed in Italy," said a spokeswoman for the Nutrition, Agriculture and Consumer Affairs ministry. "Based on the available information, we're not affected."
The E.U. Commission announced Friday that it is satisfied with the Italian authorities' reaction to the scare and sees no need for further E.U. action.
Some European nations, such as France, have ordered stores to stop selling mozzarella from Italy's Campania region because of a dioxin scare while tests are carried out.
Samples of the cheese have been found to contain higher-than-permitted levels of dioxins under European food safety rules. The E.U. has warned Italy to take further action to ensure that dioxin-tainted mozzarella does not end up on store shelves.