Cheesy story of bluish tinted mozzarella
Source: Agencies |
June 21, 2010, Monday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
ITALIAN police confiscated some 70,000 balls of mozzarella in Turin after consumers noticed the milky-white cheese quickly developed a bluish tint when the package was opened, and Agriculture Minister Giancarlo Galan ordered ministry laboratories to investigate what he called a "disturbing" development.
State TV said on Saturday 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, a city 200 kilometers to the east in northern Italy, 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 likely in a few days.
Health Minister Ferruccio Fazio alerted German authorities and the European Commission to the apparently tainted mozzarella, the ministry said.
No cases of illness were 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 colors of the national flag - ripe tomatoes, creamy rich cheese and fragrant basil leaves.
Most prized of all the mozzarella is the kind 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 Italian mozzarella production plants found high levels of dioxin in some samples of buffalo milk.
State TV said on Saturday 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, a city 200 kilometers to the east in northern Italy, 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 likely in a few days.
Health Minister Ferruccio Fazio alerted German authorities and the European Commission to the apparently tainted mozzarella, the ministry said.
No cases of illness were 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 colors of the national flag - ripe tomatoes, creamy rich cheese and fragrant basil leaves.
Most prized of all the mozzarella is the kind 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 Italian mozzarella production plants found high levels of dioxin in some samples of buffalo milk.
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