Now cheesemaker takes the food police to court

THE Scots cheesemaker accused by health chiefs of being at the centre of a potentially deadly E.coli outbreak is taking legal action to try to stop them destroying his business.

Family firm Errington Cheese, based in Carnwath, Lanarkshire, was shut down by Food Standards Scotland (FSS) on September 14 and could face financial ruin.

Inspectors stepped in after 22 people were infected with the O157 strain of the bug.

Half of them needed hospital treatment and a three-month-old girl died. Company founder Humphrey Errington, 71, claims FSS has provided no evidence that his Dunsyre Blue cheese was the source and has heard nothing from the watchdog since it ordered the business to stop trading.

He has also received backing from Aberdeen University’s Emeritus Professor of Bacteriology Hugh Pennington, who accused FSS of taking ‘draconian action’.

Yesterday, Mr Errington confirmed that legal action is under way.

He said: ‘Our petition for a judicial review of FSS actions was lodged today at the Court of Session and I understand that the petition will be heard on Thursday. I can’t really say anything more at this stage.’

FSS said it had detected E.coli O157 in a batch of Lanark White, non-O157 in Dunsyre Blue, plus genes suggestive of contamination.

Investigators said 15 of the 22 victims had eaten Dunsyre Blue, which is only produced by the company.

Earlier this month, an FSS spokesman said: ‘Potentially harm- ful strains of E.coli and the shiga toxin genes that can cause illness in humans have been found in a number of different batches of different cheeses produced by Errington.

‘This means that FSS is not satisfied that the controls and production methods used by the business are producing safe food.’

When the case is heard on Thursday in Edinburgh, Errington Cheese will ask for suspension of instructions from FSS ordering enforcement officials to ‘seek out and destroy’ all stocks of Dunsyre Blue.

It will also ask for details of tests carried out by the agency, including epidemiological evidence of the alleged link between Dunsyre Blue and the E.coli bacterium.

FSS is to take further action to clamp down on any manufacturer using ‘raw’ milk.

Last week, it wrote to all local authorities, requiring them to apply stringent new tests on the presumption that any cheese made with unpasteurised milk is likely to be unsafe – an edict that will affect hundreds of manufacturers.

One said yesterday that the tests were far more severe than those applied to other foods and raised concerns that there is no laboratory in Scotland even capable of carrying out the tests demanded by FSS.

An FSS spokesman said yesterday: ‘Errington Cheese Ltd has lodged a petition today in the Court of Session which is currently being considered by Food Standard Scotland’s legal advisers.

‘We understand that a hearing will be set down for later this week, at which FSS will be represented.’

Earlier this month, Mr Errington said his ordeal was ‘Kafka-esque’.

He added that the firm’s dozen staff were on paid holiday – but said this was not sustainable.

‘Seek out and destroy’