There are fears the future of cloth-bound cheese, which is exclusive to the UK, is at stake because the European Commission (EC) plans to stop cheesemakers’ use of methyl bromide - a chemical that protects the product against cheese mites.
While the chemical was banned across Europe in 2005, due to the harmful effects it has on the environment, UK cheesemakers were granted an extended licence because they claimed they had no alternatives. However, this licence is due to expire in December and an application under the Biocides Products Directive, for the continued use of methyl bromide has been provisionally rejected by the EC.
The UK Health and Safety Executive has appealed against the decision and the Provision Trade Federation claimed that banning cheesemakers’ use of the methyl bromide would be “a disaster for British cheesemaking”.
The Specialist Cheesemakers Association claimed that: “Maturing cheese in this way creates a particular environment, which is ideal for the growth of cheese mite. Other member states are unlikely to need to use methyl bromide on the grounds that most aged cheese, other than British cloth-bound cheese, can be rubbed and washed on the outside, whereas cheese with cloth rinds cannot.”
The association is currently looking at the use of diatomaceous earth - the ground-up skeletons of a specific type of algae, which is used to protect grain from mite infestation - but the substance is not effective in high humidity.
The Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs put the cheesemakers’ case forward when it met with a Commission official last month and is now awaiting a further response.