April 1, 2008
AVA clears Italian Buffalo mozzarella cheese for
sale
ITALIAN Buffalo Mozzarella cheese lovers can have their fill of
it again.
The Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority (AVA), which withheld
the sale of this cheese in Singapore from March 27, on Tuesday
declared it safe to eat following tests.
'The products have since been released for sale,' said AVA in a
statement.
AVA had earlier withheld the sale of all Italian Buffalo
Mozzarella cheese as a precautionary measure following reports that
the levels of dioxin detected in the milk from some farms used for
production of this cheese are moderately higher than the limit
allowed by European Commission regulations.
AVA said it will continue to test new imports of such products
to determine their safety before allowing them to be sold in the
market.
The last import of Italian buffalo mozzarella cheese into
Singapore was on Jan 6, but due to limited information it was
unclear if the imported cheese was contaminated, the AVA said.
<!-- show media links starting at 7th para --> Italy's
Health Ministry said on Friday it was withdrawing products from 25
companies in the Campania region, where Italy's best buffalo
mozzarella is produced.
France briefly prohibited sales of some Italian mozzarella on
Friday, but revoked the ban hours later after winning Rome's
assurances that none of the suspect cheese was exported there.
Japan and South Korea had already blocked imports.
China on Monday also banned the imports of Italian mozzarella
cheese, the nation's product quality watchdog said, after traces of
the chemical dioxin, which may cause cancer, were found in the
food.
