Police raid factory in rotten cheese probe

WORINGEN, Germany (Reuters) - Police said on Saturday they had raided a cheese factory in southern Germany that they suspected may have been involved in selling out-of-date cheese linked to a case being investigated in Italy.

Italian media reported on Friday that financial police in the northern city of Cremona had uncovered large amounts of rotting cheese which was being mixed with fresh cheese and sold onto the market in Italy and Europe.

Police searched the factory in the southern German town of Woringen on Friday, police spokesman Christian Owsinski said.

"We don't know yet if it really is a food scandal," he added. "We still need to verify this."

Police took food samples from the Woringen factory for laboratory testing, the results of which would be known in the middle of next week. They also took documents, Owsinski said, adding that the general manager was an Italian citizen.

"As to whether or not the company is involved in a network, we can't say for sure at the moment but we are continuing our investigations," Owsinski said.

Earlier this year, several countries briefly banned Italian buffalo mozzarella due to fears it was tainted with dioxins.

(Reporting by Reuters Television, writing by Paul Carrel; editing by Elizabeth Piper)