В Італії вилучено з продажу в крамницях та супермаркетах партію сиру моццарела, вироблену в районі Неаполя. Це зроблено через підозри, що вона отруєна токсичними речовинами. Повідомив кореспондент Бі-Бі-Сі у Римі Дейвід Віллі:

Послухати репортаж

The Health Ministry in Rome said it was ordering the withdrawal of mozzarella produced by twenty-five different cheese companies in the Naples area, pending the results of further tests. This order has apparently satisfied European Commission authorities in Brussels, who have been threatening an embargo after several countries - including France, Japan and South Korea - halted sales of one of Italy's most famous gastronomic specialities.

Genuine mozzarella cheese - made only from buffalo milk - is produced mainly in the Naples area. It's a huge and profitable business, employing twenty-thousand people and with a turnover of nearly five-hundred-million dollars a year.

The Italian authorities are engaged in a massive damage-limitation exercise after tests showed that a very small number of mozzarella producers were selling contaminated cheese. Dioxin, which can cause cancer, was detected in quantities above those permitted by EC rules.

Mozzarella producers have been panicking after a drastic fall in sales this year. A deputy health minister scoffed down huge slices of mozzarella at a news conference in Rome organized earlier this week to publicize what the authorities claim is the minimal danger to public health from this latest food scare.

David Willey, BBC News, Rome

Послухати слова

withdrawal
тут - вилучення

pending the results of further tests
очікуючи результатів подальших аналізів

halted sales of
припинили продаж

profitable business
вигідний бізнес (такий, що приносить чималий прибуток)

turnover
оборот

are engaged in a massive damage-limitation exercise
тут - роблять усе можливе, щоб моццарела не втратила свою добру репутацію

contaminated
отруєний

detected
знайдено

a drastic fall in sales
різке скорочення продажу

scoffed down
жадібно заковтував