THE founder of the cheese firm linked to the outbreak of E.coli which has seen a second product withdrawn following the death of a girl has claimed the food watchdog is trying to close down the business.
Humphrey Errington owns the family-run farm and cheese company Errington Cheese, which has been forced to take two of its products off the market following a wave of E.coli cases that has resulted in the death of a three-year-old in Dunbartonshire.
Food Standards Scotland (FSS) demanded the recall of a batch G14 of Lanark White – a white cheese made from unpasteurised sheep’s milk – on Saturday, weeks after the watchdog claimed the firm’s Dunsyre Blue Cheese, based on unpasteurised cow’s milk, was the “most likely” cause of the E.coli outbreak.
It has emerged the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service have launched an investigation into the death of the child, who has not been named. She is one of 20 people who tested positive for the potentially deadly bug in July. The FSS has now confirmed that none of its tests have detected the same strain linked to the outbreak in the batch of Dunsyre Blue Mr Errington said the FSS was motivated by “prejudice” against unpasteurised milk and claims the E.coli tests carried out by the government were “unorthodox”.
“It was a completely uncalled-for attack on us,” he said. “Basically the object is just to close us down.
“You would have to ask the FSS what their motivation is, but perhaps a guide is their constant warnings about the dangers of unpasteurised cheese in every press release they issue.”
He said initial tests have shown Lanark White was “completely clear”, but more results are due today. Monday“Our microbiological experts advise us that the way the tests were done for the Government, was unorthodox,” he said. “We put queries to FSS, but they never answered them. So we didn’t feel we could trust tests that were not done in the accredited way.”
Mr Errington, who launched his cheese firm in the 1980s, said the child’s death was a “terrible thing” and could be investigated, not only for any criminality, but also also through a Fatal Accident Inquiry.
He said that in July the US Food and Drink Agency, the world’s biggest food safety organisation in the world, had published the results of a massive survey conducted on raw milk cheese.
“They took endless samples and the conclusion was that raw milk cheese is no more dangerous than other foods. That is based on science, not prejudice,” he said.
A spokeswoman for the FSS said “Our primary focus is to protect the interest of consumers and we are acting on best available evidence.
“Given the very low doses of E. coli that can lead to severe illness – and, as we have seen from this outbreak, a fatality – we do not accept that waiting for people to become ill is an appropriate way to proceed.
“We supported the business’s decision on their earlier precautionary recall, but as they were unwilling to act on the positive E. coli O157 result we had little option but to recall the product.”
She said the batches implicated and therefore restricted, were only those detailed in its statements.
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