ROME (Reuters) - Makers of Italy's best mozzarella battled on Friday to save the reputation of their cheese after police found some of it was being made with milk contaminated with cancer-causing dioxin.
Police near Naples are investigating whether feed given tobuffalo herds, which produce the best milk for mozzarella, wastainted, possibly by gangsters involved in illegal wastedisposal.
The scandal is the latest blow to the cheese which used tobe seen as by-word for fresh and natural Italian produce.
Sales of buffalo mozzarella plunged 40 percent in Januarydue to health fears when Naples and the surrounding Campaniaregion became inundated with household waste when the garbagedisposal system ground to a halt.
In an attempt to stop further damage, the association ofbuffalo mozzarella makers took out full-page advertisements inItalian newspapers on Friday to state that none of theirmembers were being investigated.
Farmers' association Coldiretti said the contamination onlyaffected a tiny part of mozzarella producers.
"We need as quickly as possible to separate the 'bad apple'from the rest so we can defend what is one of the mostrepresentative 'Made in Italy' brands: buffalo mozzarella," itsaid, promising to cooperate with the investigation.
The Naples mafia -- known as the Camorra -- is heavilyinvolved in waste disposal, particularly the dumping andburning of industrial waste in the Campania countryside, policesay.
That has caused contamination of water, soil and air whichscientists have linked to higher instances of some cancers inparts of the region.
Best known for its use melted on pizza, in Italy, 'buffala'which costs at least twice as much as mozzarella made withcows' milk, is often eaten on its own or in a salad with freshtomatoes and basil. Only 16 percent of the 33,000 tonnes annualproduction is exported.
Buffalo mozzarella production employs more than 20,000people, an important industry in one of Italy's mosteconomically backward regions.
(Reporting by Robin Pomeroy; Editing by Janet Lawrence)