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PARIS, March 28 (Reuters) - France ordered its shops on Friday to stop selling mozzarella cheese from Italy's Campania region because of fears it might be contaminated with cancer-causing dioxin.

The agriculture minister said in a statement that the mozzarella, made from buffalo milk, would be withdrawn from the shelves immediately "as a precautionary measure" pending further tests.

Italian officials have tried to play down health risks for the public after checks found higher than permitted levels of dioxin at nearly one in five producers of buffalo mozzarella from Campania, in southern Italy.

However, France said doubts raised at an EU level meant the Campania mozzarella should be kept out of shops for now.

Tests have shown that 83 dairy farms in Campania have produced contaminated milk. Italian health officials believe the dioxin levels are linked to a recent garbage crisis in Naples and the surrounding countryside.

Japan and South Korea have already halted imports of buffalo mozzarella, one of Italy's best-known culinary products, over concerns about contamination. (Reporting by Crispian Balmer; Editing by Kevin Liffey)

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