Italians fear seized mozzarella may be tainted

ITALIAN police confiscated 70,000 balls of mozzarella in Turin after consumers noticed the milky-white cheese quickly developed a bluish tint when the package was opened, authorities said.

Agriculture Minister Giancarlo Galan ordered ministry laboratories to investigate what he called a “disturbing” development.

State TV said a woman in Turin called police after noticing that the mozzarella, made in Germany for an Italian company, turned blue after contact with air, and that several merchants in Turin had received similar complaints.

Later in the day another consumer, in Trento made a similar discovery, authorities said.

Samples were sent to laboratories that normally deal with anti-doping testing in sport to see if they could detect any foreign substances. Results were expected in a few days.

Health Minister Ferruccio Fazio alerted German authorities and the European Commission to the apparently tainted mozzarella, the health ministry said.

No cases of illness were immediately reported.

The mysterious blue mozzarella was the latest embarrassment for a food that is a point of pride for Italians and a staple in pizzas, panini and even the signature “caprese” salad in the red, white and green colours of the national flag – ripe tomatoes, creamy rich cheese and fragrant basil leaves.

Most prized of all is mozzarella made from buffalo milk. But earlier this year Italian agriculture authorities said some of the buffalo mozzarella, which comes from an area south of Rome, had fallen below standard after traces of cow’s milk were found in it.

Two years earlier, tests at hundreds of Italian mozzarella production plants found high levels of dioxin in some samples of buffalo milk.

Buffalo mozzarella enjoys Europe’s Protected Designation of Origin label, meaning the real thing has to be made following strict criteria, including using only buffalo milk.