Owner of cheese f irm in E.coli alert wins legal battle
A CHEESE maker linked to an E-coli outbreak that killed a three-year-old girl has won a legal battle to prevent batches of his products being destroyed.
Humphrey Errington, 72, took South Lanarkshire Council to court after it called for dozens of batches of two cheeses to be declared unfit for human consumption and destroyed.
Errington Cheese was accused of being the source of an E.coli outbreak that hospitalised 17 people between July and September 2016 and claimed the life of a three-yearold girl.
Watchdog Food Standards Scotland investigated, pointing the finger at Errington’s Dunsyre Blue cheese, which is made from unpasteurised milk.
The council seized batches of Lanark Blue and Corra Linn from the company farm in Carnwath, Lanarkshire.
A civil case at Hamilton Sheriff Court heard tests found bacteria in both cheeses and council bosses asked for them to be labelled unsafe to eat under food safety laws. Mr Errington said the council was wrong and branded the decision unfair.
Sheriff Robert Weir has now ruled Mr Errington did not breach safety standards and refused to agree with the council’s request to condemn all the seized cheese.
However, he said one batch of Lanark Blue and three of Corra Linn should be destroyed.
In a 255-page judgment, he said: ‘I am satisfied that Lanark Blue Remainder was “produced, processed or distributed” in compli- ance with the hygiene regulations.
‘In my opinion, the evidence establishes that the respondents did not accept raw milk for the production of Lanark Blue Remainder which might reasonably be expected to contain pathogenic organisms to such an extent that, even after the normal processing procedures had been applied, the resulting batches would have been unfit for human consumption.
‘I would agree that an order for destruction of the batches of Lanark Blue Remainder would represent a disproportionate response to what the test results disclose about the respondents’ processes and products.’
He added: ‘For the same reasons, I do not consider that the evidence justifies such an order in relation to Corra Linn.’
Mr Errington represented the firm in court and claimed he had paid out more than £350,000 in legal fees. The council racked up more than £550,000 in bills during the dispute.
He said ‘The sheriff found that Errington Cheese Limited’s food management systems were in compliance with the law and that all the cheese, with the exception of four batches, complied with food safety requirements.
‘Sheriff Weir condemned four batches on the basis that they were unfit for human consump- tion because different Shiga toxin producing E.coli were isolated from samples of each batch.
‘The sheriff did not find that these batches were likely to be injurious to health.’
Mr Errington said he would be consulting his lawyers on the firm’s next steps.
Michael McGlynn, executive director of community and enterprise resources at South Lanarkshire Council, said: ‘The council acknowledges the sheriff’s decision to confirm the destruction of some of the cheese that action was taken against, whilst noting the sheriff’s decision on the remaining batches. We are considering the implications of the decision.’
Ross Finnie, chairman of Food Standards Scotland, said: ‘We are content that the sheriff’s judgment concluded that some of the cheeses produced by Errington Cheese Ltd were unfit for human consumption.
‘However, we are disappointed this did not include all of the cheese involved in these proceedings.
‘South Lanarkshire Council’s decision to bring condemnation proceedings, which Food Standard Scotland supported, was not taken lightly and all the organisations involved believed there was a strong case for such action.
‘Food Standards Scotland will study the judgment fully.’
The Crown Office said there would be no criminal proceedings because of a lack of evidence linking Errington to the death of the girl from Dunbartonshire.
‘In compliance with the law’