Cheesemongers have slammed the UK’s ban on the import of unpasteurised Italian and French cheeses as “costly, illogical and deeply frustrating”.
The industry has warned of significant shortages of continental cheese following Defra’s import suspension on unpasteurised dairy products – plus live animals and animal byproducts – at the end of June.
The move was an attempt to stem the spread of lumpy skin disease outbreaks in Italy and France.
The virus is a notifiable disease that primarily affects cattle and water buffalo, causing skin lesions and other symptoms like fever and reduced milk production. It does not affect humans or the safety of food.
Pasteurised cheeses from the countries can still be imported, subject to additional checks. However, the ban, though temporary, has frustrated British cheesemongers and importers.
Patricia Michelson, founder of London-based retailer La Fromagerie, accused Defra of taking unjustified action.
“Defra’s concern for UK herds may justify a ban on live animals – but cheese and other dairy products, pasteurised or not, pose no threat,” wrote Michelson on Instagram this week.
Her criticism was echoed by London-based cheese and wine retailer Jessica Summer of Mouse & Grape, who told The Grocer “some raw milk soft cheeses are already being rationed by wholesalers, and over the next one to three weeks, availability will drop off quickly”.
Small producers on the continent were already hard hit due to their loss of market access, added Summer, who noted “no clear timeline” over the duration of the ban.
“Proper brie, camembert, and smaller batch mozzarella without pasteurised versions will be hardest hit,” she added, though supermarkets – which tended to mainly stock pasteurised versions – were currently less exposed.
“If this trickles into harder cheeses like comté or parmesan, that’s when restaurants and chefs will really start to feel the pressure. Those cheeses are much harder to substitute, and kitchens rely on consistency,” she suggested.
“This isn’t about food safety, raw milk cheeses are still being eaten across Europe,” Summer said. “This is about bureaucracy, not health, and it’s threatening the future of raw milk cheese as we know it.”
Supplies of cheeses such as brie fe meaux, reblochon and morbier had already dried up, said Chris Chisnall, sales and marketing director of importer and wholesaler Bradbury’s Cheeses.
“We hope the EU and UK can come to some agreement about the regionalisation of the ban rather than a blanket across all French and Italian raw milk products.” This would allow cheeses “to be imported from non-affected regions of France and Italy, but we fear the stoppage will continue for some time”, he added.
The border controls were “very similar to those faced by products from countries affected by the recent foot & mouth disease outbreak”, suggested Provision Trade Federation director general Rod Addy.
“The process now is for the countries affected to work towards regionalisation for all export countries,” he added. “For the UK to grant regionalisation – meaning products from countries outside the restricted zones could be exported – authorities here must be satisfied that the causes of the outbreaks have been confirmed and no new outbreaks are expected.”
A Defra spokesperson told The Grocer the government “will do whatever it takes to protect British farmers and their herds from disease”.
They stressed unpasteurised cheeses are restricted, “but as most Italian cheeses, such as parmesan, mozzarella, and gorgonzola are pasteurised “this should not have a significant impact on supply chains”.
Untreated dairy products were restricted “due to the risk they pose to animals” susceptible to the virus, Defra said, with import restrictions reflecting “international guidelines published by the World Organisation for Animal Health”. The government department added the ban had not led to delays “at points of entry into GB”.
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