E.coli fears spark cheese ban in Scotland
The ban followed an outbreak of E.coli in July that led to the death of a child earlier this month.
The multi-agency Incident Management Team (IMT) – chaired by Health Protection Scotland – yesterday (September 15) said that, based on strong epidemiological evidence, the outbreak of E.coli was linked to Dunsyre Blue cheese.
FSS issued a Food Alert For Action (FAFA) ordering all of the manufacturer’s cheeses to be withdrawn from sale.
These included the products: Dunsyre Blue, Dunsyre Baby, Lanark Blue, Lanark White, Maisie’s Kebbuck and Cora Linn.
The health body said: “That decision [to withdraw the cheese from sale] was not taken lightly. FSS is fully aware of the impact on the business, but its priority is to protect public health.
“FSS’s primary focus is protection of consumers. FSS has made information available where this has been in the public interest, but it would not be appropriate to conduct an ongoing food safety investigation through the media.”
Outbreak of E.coli
Errington has continued to dispute the link between its cheese and the outbreak of E.coli in Scotland.
Speaking before IMT’s latest statement, a spokesman said: “Further to FSS announcement last night [September 14] that all our cheese should be withdrawn, I would like to re-confirm my position that all the testing we have carried out on our cheese to date has found no trace of E.coli 0157.
“We have used micro testing laboratories in the UK and Europe and found no trace of pathogens. We have shown results of all our testing and all Local Authority testing to date to various microbiological experts which has enabled us to come to this decision.
“I was not given an option from FSS last night who emailed me at 6.56pm asking for a response by 7.15pm impossible for me to seek advice and respond to something like this in 18 minutes.”
Comments were ‘inaccurate’
However, FSS said that some samples submitted for testing by South Lanarkshire Council have tested positive for E.coli O157 and that Errington’s comments were “inaccurate”.
Sir Hugh Pennington, emeritus professor of bacteriology at the University of Aberdeen, questioned the FSS’s decision.
Speaking on the BBC’s Good Morning Scotland before the latest IMT ruling, he said: “Food Standards Scotland is behaving in a very precautionary manner because as I understand it, the scientific evidence that there's E.coli 157 in the cheese has not yet been produced.
