South Korea bans Italian mozzarella contaminated with dioxin

Seoul: South Korea has banned the import of Italy's best mozzarella after reports that the cheese was made with milk contaminated with cancer-causing dioxin, an official said on Monday.

South Korea imports about 10 tonnes of the product a year, the ministry said. The country will conduct its own tests to see if there is dioxin contamination, an official with the agriculture ministry said.

‘Once we identify the maker of the contaminated product and the period in which it was produced, we can then narrow the ban,' the official said.

Police near Naples last week said they were investigating whether feed given to buffalo herds, which produce the best milk for mozzarella, was tainted, possibly by gangsters involved in illegal waste disposal.

The Italian farmers' association, Coldiretti, said the contamination only affected a tiny part of mozzarella producers.

There is a growing market for gourmet Italian food in places such as Tokyo, Seoul and Taipei.