Dioxin-Tainted Buffalo Mozzarella

Buffalo mozzarella being prepared outside of Naples.

Photo: Franco Castano / AP Photo

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It could be an Italian mob flick: The mafia in Naples is blamed for illegally dumping trash, some of which is toxic. Some of the prized buffalo mozzarella cheese becomes tainted with dioxin. Italians can't eat the cheese, export sales are hurt, the government gets involved - but how does it all end?

We're not there yet. It's true that samples of mozzarella made from buffalo milk have shown higher levels of the carcinogen dioxin. While outsiders have suggested the increased dioxin levels are due to the trash pile up in Naples near where the buffalo are raised, Italian officials have denied that reasoning.

Last weekend, South Korea banned imports of the cheese, according to a New York Times story, and yesterday Japan halted imports, according to a Bloomberg News article.

Italy produces 33,000 tons of mozzarella a year and exports 16 percent of that.

Trash collection has been a problem for years in Naples, and earlier this year the European Union told Naples to clean up or face legal action, according to a Newsweek article.

The Camorra, the organized crime group in Naples, has illegally dumped trash - and turned a profit from the practice - for years without intervention, according to the Times. Italy will have to address that issue, as well as the amount of garbage produced by Neopolitans.

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