‘Cheese police’ issue new alert over E.coli fear
FOOD standards bosses have issued another public warning against eating cheese made by a company linked to a deadly E.coli outbreak.
Errington Cheese – which has been involved in a row with the watchdog since last summer – started selling its produce again last week.
Its Corra Linn cheese is the first of the family firm’s products to go back on sale since a ban was imposed last year.
The batches, made with sheep milk, were tested and released by South Lanarkshire Council.
But Food Standards Scotland (FSS), the so-called cheese police, has criticised the local authority for allowing the Lanarkshire firm’s produce to be marketed.
It claimed analysis of the cheese was ‘incomplete’ and did not provide sufficient evidence that it was ‘produced safely’.
A statement said: ‘FSS understands that South Lanarkshire Council has decided not to detain these cheeses.
‘Allowing them to be placed on the market was premature, as there is currently insufficient evidence to provide assurances to the public that these cheeses are safe.’
Last summer, a three-year-old girl died during an E.coli outbreak that affected 26 people.
The bug was linked by the authorities to Errington Cheese’s Dunsyre Blue. The decision was later taken to withdraw all products made by the firm.
The company has always insisted its cheese is safe and says it has the scientific evidence to prove its case.
Last night, founder Humphrey Errington, 71, said: ‘We started selling in a shop in Biggar at the beginning of last week.
‘It was good news. It was the first time we had been allowed to sell anything in six months.’
Regarding the warning from FSS, he said: ‘It’s very confusing. We could be excused for thinking FSS just want to be mischievous.’
South Lanarkshire Council is seeking a sheriff’s permission to have batches of Errington’s Lanark Blue condemned.
It is considering allowing the Dunsyre Blue to go on sale again, if labelled as a raw ingredient that requires to be cooked.
A spokesman said: ‘South Lanarkshire Council has throughout this period always acted to protect public health.
‘We continue to do that and will always undertake to do so using proportional actions.’
In January, Mr Errington secured a decision to suspend council-imposed ‘detention notices’ on his cheese.
A judge ruled the action by South Lanarkshire Council was unlawful. He gave the authority a week to reconsider its detention orders on three Errington products. As the time period was due to elapse, officials arrived to seize the cheese.
Smaller cheese-makers have now united to accuse FSS of a vendetta against their industry.
The Committee for the Defence of Artisan Food’s first meeting was in Edinburgh this month, attended by around 200 people.
The group’s Joanna Blythman, a food writer, said: ‘Artisan food businesses... are under attack.
‘Far from protecting our access to good, clean, fair food, too often the bureaucracy known as the food police seems to be out to destroy it.’
‘Want to be mischievous’