World | Italy Italy Recalls Famed Mozzarella Fears that cheese contains carcinogen had prompted Korea, Japan to ban imports By Matt Cantor Posted Mar 28, 2008 1:15 PM CDT Copied Packs of Italian mozzarella made from buffalo milk in the Campania region, are seen in a shop in Nice, southern France, Friday, March 28, 2008. (AP Photo/Lionel Cironneau) Fear of contamination today forced Italy to recall its celebrated mozzarella cheese, Reuters reports. Rome is withdrawing the cheese of 25 companies in the Campania region near Naples, source of the country’s best buffalo mozzarella, after a garbage crisis is thought to have spread cancer-causing dioxin. The European Commission had threatened a trade ban; South Korea and Japan have halted imports. The contaminating dioxin likely came from locals burning trash and industrial waste in streets and fields. “We are at the historical minimum level of sales,” said one cheese dealer, but Italy’s foreign minister said he wasn’t worried. “This is a limited phenomenon,” he noted. After the recall, “we're convinced that we can restore confidence” in “a symbol of Italian gastronomy.” Read These Next Beyonce leaves national anthem unfinished. A space capsule carrying ashes of 160 people crashed in the ocean. The death toll in the Texas floods has risen to 27, including 9 kids. A lesson in minding your own business ... at 30,000 feet. Report an error