International Herald Tribune and various other national and international newspapers. These articles marked the beginning of an international media attention that raised the threshold of collective attention on the potential harmfulness of buffalo mozzarella from Campania. In particular, they pointed out to varying degrees a relationship between the fires of garbage heaps and the release of dioxins and other cancerous substances, which would end up in the pastures of dairy animals. Alarmed by some positive findings in the dioxin test, the South Korean government was among the first to prohibit the importation of Italian buffalo mozzarella, promising to remove the ban only when the findings confirmed the possible contamination and identification of responsible producers. A chain reaction followed, in which several countries including Japan, China, Russia and Germany took various measures ranging from the mere raising of the attention threshold to the suspension of imports. The Italian institutions activated almost immediately, even in response to pressing requests from the European Union, a series of checks and suspended, in some cases, the sale of dairy products from the incriminated provinces. Tests had shown levels of dioxins higher than normal in at least 14% of samples taken in the provinces of Naples, Caserta and Avellino. In the provinces of Salerno and Benevento, no control indicated dioxins positivity. In any case, the contamination has affected, in a limited defined manner, the farms used to produce buffalo mozzarella DOP. On 19 April, China definitively removed the ban on mozzarella, originally activated on 28 March 2008, and tests held in December 2013 in Germany on behalf of four Italian consumer associations have highlighted dioxin and heavy metal levels at least five times lower than the legal limit. Production stages To produce of cheese, a cheese maker requires of cow milk but only of buffalo milk. Producing 1 kg of butter requires of cow milk but only of buffalo milk. The steps required to produce buffalo mozzarella are: Milk storage (raw buffalo milk stored in steel containers). Milk heating (thermic treatment to the liquid, then poured into a cream separator). Curdling (by introduction of natural whey). Curd maturation (the curd lies in tubs to reduce the acidifying processes and reach a pH value of about 4.95). Spinning (hot water is poured on the curd to soften it, obtaining pasta filata). Shaping (with special rotating shaper machines). Cooling (by immersion in cold water). Pickling (by immersion in