Forgive the sensational title of today’s blog, but I am a serious foodie when it comes to all things Italian…
After all, few things in life hit the spot quite like an authentic Italian antipasto of parma ham, buffalo mozzarella and marinated red peppers.
So, you can imagine my shock and surprise when I discovered that my local supermarket here in Tokyo was no longer selling mozzarella cheese.
After making this horrific discovery, I quickly asked the store clerk where I could find this necessary ingredient for my antipasto in the making.
What was their response you ask?
Well, quite simply that Japan has decided to ban all imports of Italian buffalo mozzarella cheese following the discovery of high levels of dioxin in the cheese.
Yikes!
(Interestingly enough, the store clerk then recommended that I try using sharp cheddar cheese instead of mozzarella in my antipasto!)
Anyway, turns out that as of yesterday, the Japanese Ministry of Health has been impounding all shipments of this delicious cheese after South Korean officials discovered 29 toxic samples.
Dioxin, which is an extremely potent carcinogen, hit the headlines a few years back following the alleged poisoning of Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko.
Needless to say, this is not the kind of chemical you want on your dinner plate!
Last month, Chinese-made dumplings containing pesticides sickened 175 Japanese, which launched the issue of food safety and security into the public spotlight.
Culturally, the Japanese are incessant gourmands, so issues concerning food contamination are not taken lightly here in the Land of the Rising Sun.
So, following a rash of food poisonings in neighboring South Korea, the Japanese government was quick to act.
Each year, Italy produces 33,000 tons of mozzarella, and exports 16 percent of that (or approximately 329 tons) to Japan.
So, given that there are batches of killer cheese floating around South Korea, which imports a mere 10 tons of the gooey product, the Japanese public is applauding the government’s foresight.
Of course, the Italian government is less than happy as of recent.
Paolo Minster De Castro, Italy’s agriculture minister, is in talks with Japanese, South Korean and European Union officials on the issue.
At an emergency summit in Rome, the Italian health ministry admitted that traces of carcinogenic dioxins had been discovered at some farms in Campania.
Health officials previously stated that herds of water buffalo, whose milk is used to make the cheese, could be ingesting poisons from illegally dumped rubbish.
Dioxins are usually released when plastic is burnt, though they can also seep into groundwater from decomposing rubbish.
However, the Italian government is fiercely denying that the dioxin in the buffalo mozzarella comes from improperly disposed garbage.
In fact, the Italian health ministry even went as far as to reassure the public that the problems were “limited and contained.”
For those of you living in Japan, my suggestion is to pass on mozzarella for awhile, even though the problem has thus far been limited to the buffalo variety.
And, for anyone living over in America who is fond of Italian food, perhaps you might want to consider going out for Thai this week.
** All images courtesy of the WikiCommons Media Project **