Italy said on Wednesday it has detected higher-than-permitted levels of dioxin in 25 mozzarella-making facilities out of 130 it checked, and had 'put more than 80 cow farms protectively under seal'. -- PHOTO: REUTERS

SINGAPORE has stopped all sales of buffalo mozzarella from Italy after high levels of dioxin were found in the cheese.

The Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) said this is a precautionary move as 'exact information on the brand, batch and producer of the implicated mozzarella cheese is still not available'.

Dioxin is a man-made chemical by-product formed during the manufacturing of other chemicals and during incineration.

It can cause both acute and long-term effects such as skin diseases, cancer, severe weight loss, liver problems, kidney problems, birth defects, reduced resistance to infectious disease and death.

Italian health officials believe the dioxin levels are linked to a recent garbage crisis in Naples and the surrounding countryside.

About 106 kg of mozzarella cheese was last imported into Singapore on Jan 6.

But it cannot be ascertained whether the cheese imported were the affected cheese.

Mozzarella is used in most types of pizza.

Italy said on Wednesday it has detected higher-than-permitted levels of dioxin in 25 mozzarella-making facilities out of 130 it checked, and had 'put more than 80 cow farms protectively under seal'.

A statement by its Health Ministry said the levels found in milk and mozzarella in the 25 facilities are 'moderately higher' than what is allowed under EU rules.

AVA has withheld the sale of all Italian Buffalo Mozzarella cheese pending current lab tests to determine if they have been contaminated.

France scraps move to halt mozzarella sales

France's agriculture minister on Friday scrapped a decision to halt sales of imported mozzarella after Italy decided to recall the dioxin-tainted cheese.

Agriculture Minister Michel Barnier had ordered shops to stop selling mozzarella from Italy's Campania region on Friday but later that same day withdrew the measures.

'The European Commission has just said that it was satisfied with the progress shown by the Italian government and sees no need for further European measures at this stage,' said the agriculture ministry in a statement.

'The measures previously requested pending additional information from Italian authorities are no longer warranted,' he added.

On Friday, Italy announced a recall of the cheese, a move welcomed by Brussels.

Japan and South Korea have already halted imports of buffalo mozzarella, over concerns about contamination.

Additional report by Reuters, AFP