Campaigners warn over crusade against raw milk cheese

● Second cheesemaker forced to withdraw product over bug fears

0 Products from the Dumfries-based Loch Arthur creamery were recalled on Wednesday night Campaigners have warned of an “ongoing crusade” against raw milk cheese after a second Scottish cheesemaker was forced to withdraw its artisan products by the authorities amid fears over a food poisoning bug.

The entire stock of Crannog and Killywhan cheese were recalled on Wednesday night by the Loch Arthur Creamery at the Camphill community in Dumfries after Food Standards Scotland (FSS) said listeria monocytogenes – which can be dangerous to vulnerable groups such as young children and pregnant women – had been found in certain batches of the products.

The withdrawal comes just months after Lanark-based Errington Cheeses was forced to destroy all of its stock of unpasteurised cheeses amid claims they were linked to an E.coli outbreak which killed a three-year-old girl. Errington has insisted that independent testing has not found harmful bacteria in its products.

Campaigners supporting Errington Cheeses have claimed that FSS wants to prevent raw cheese production, with more than £20,000 now raised in a crowdfunding campaign to pay for legal costs to fight the decision to withdraw the company’s products.

Scottish food author Joanna Blythman, who launched the crowdfunding campaign said: “I am concerned that this is another manifestation of FSS and Health Protection Scotland’s ongoing crusade against raw milk cheese, which is concentrated on the basis of flawed science and entrenched prejudice.”

Humphrey Errington, owner of Errington Cheeses, said the FSS’S decision to withdraw all the products was “completely out of proportion”.

It is the third time that the Loch Arthur Creamery has had to withdraw a cheese due to the presence of listeria in the past five years – with its Criffel brand taken off sale in 2013 and 2014.

A spokesman for Loch Arthur said that the company had initially withdrawn only the specific batch which contained the bacteria – but that its entire stock had been forcibly recalled by FSS. I

He said: “We followed our documented procedures to deal with this issue.”

A spokesman for FSS said: “Food Standards Scotland can confirm that there is no ‘crusade’ against raw milk cheese produce. Ready-to-eat foods such as cheese, must be compliant with EU regulations.”