Japan stopped taking in imports of the cheese on Sunday, the official said on Wednesday, adding that Japan was waiting for Italy to provide details.

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

South Korea halted buffalo mozzarella imports at the weekend and said it would conduct its own tests to see if there was dioxin contamination, while the European Commission has asked Italy for assurances the country's top mozzarella is safe to eat.

The Japanese official said it appeared that the tainted cheese had affected only a small number of mozzarella producers.

'If we could be provided with the names of these firms, we could again allow cheese from the other producers to enter the country,' he said.

He said he did not immediately have figures on the amount of mozzarella that was now being held by Japanese customs.

He added that Japan did not keep a detailed breakdown of the types of cheese that it imports.

The Japan Imported Cheese Promotion Association said consumption of all types of mozzarella was growing, although the organisation could not provide figures.

'A lot of the mozzarella is being consumed melted on pizza or as a salad with fresh tomatoes,' an association official said.

Japan's consumption of cheese, however, remains small compared with European and other western countries.

The association's data shows that Japan's per annum consumption of cheese was about 2.0kg per person in 2000, compared with 25.4kg in France and 22.3kg in Italy. -- REUTERS