Toxins released by the trash that Naples still hasn’t figured out what to do with might be tainting a regional delicacy- buffalo mozzarella. Reports of elevated dioxin levels in the cheese, found last week, have caused a 40% drop in sales. The NYT article doesn’t make it clear that it’s specifically the toxic waste in the city that’s causing the dioxin in the cheese, and some locals affiliated with the cheese industry imply that it might also be the fault of “shady mozzarella producers”.
“It really is a problem of criminals making a counterfeit product from God-knows-what,” said Mr. Ursini…“Mozzarella-wise, we’re in good shape. I just hope the whole thing doesn’t become a panic.”
The trash problem is also linked to an Italian criminal element, so hopefully dealing with the trash will remove the cheese issue, either by clearing the environment or removing the shady producers.
How discouraging to learn of an exciting cheese product (buffalo cheese? really?) and have my sampling hopes be so quickly discouraged. In Alexandria we’ve even got a cheese boutique (Cheesetique, yes, really), so I bet they’d have some. I hope it’s dioxin free.
Fix your trash issue, Naples: I want to discover your cheese.
0 Responses to “Oh No, Not the Cheese”