AN unprecedented scientific rift has emerged between the two authorities that clamped down on Errington Cheese after the company’s Dunsyre Blue cheese was allegedly implicated in the e-coli outbreak that caused the death of a three-year-old girl in East Dunbartonshire last summer.
National food safety agency Food Standards Scotland (FSS) has issued a severe public rebuke to South Lanarkshire Council (SLC) after it gave the go-ahead to Errington Cheese to sell its Corra Linn brand.
FSS has insisted that Errington cheeses must not be sold.
The matter will now go to court, where the firm's founder Humphrey Errington will defend his cheeses.
The FSS said: “The food alert for action (Fafa) notice, advising local authorities not to allow Corra Linn, Dunsyre Blue, Lanark Blue, Lanark White, Maisie’s Kebbuck, Dunsyre Baby and Sir Lancelot cheeses to be placed on the market, remains in place to protect consumers.
"FSS’s advice remains that these cheeses should not be eaten.
“Errington Cheese Ltd has now, after several requests from Food Standards Scotland, supplied the results of its own laboratory testing, which have raised further concerns and support FSS’s position that the cheeses have not been produced safely.
“FSS has also had sight of analysis undertaken by South Lanarkshire Council on Corra Linn. This analysis is incomplete. It does not provide sufficient evidence that the cheese was produced safely and preliminary testing on other batches of Corra Linn has identified markers which signify potential contamination that could be harmful to health.
“FSS understands that South Lanarkshire Council has decided not to detain these cheeses and allowing them to be placed on the market was premature, as there is currentl insufficient evidence to provide assurances to the public that these cheeses are safe. FSS has advised South Lanarkshire Council, as the competent authority, of the assurances it would require from them before considering any modification to this food alert for action. To date, FSS has not received these assurances."
Officials at South Lanarkshire, which has been monitoring Errington’s output for more than 20 years, are said to be privately fuming at the FSS’s implication that they would let unsafe cheese be put on the market.
A spokesman said: “The council has throughout this period always acted in the interests of protecting public health. We will continue to do so while taking appropriate action at all times.”
The clear difference between South Lanarkshire’s scientific view and that of FSS was highlighted by Humphrey Errington, who denies that any of his cheeses caused last year’s outbreak that put 17 people in hospital.
The company said on its website: “Today’s press release from FSS repeats the same allegations against our cheese and our processes.
“We are confused by the apparent differences between FSS and SLC because SLC approved the sale of certain batches of Corra Linn. We do not understand why the Fafa is being used in this way.
“We look forward to the court hearing ... which will allow the sheriff to hear the evidence for and against the cheese and to make a decision regarding its fitness for consumption.
“Therefore, at this stage it would not be proper or appropriate for us to answer the points made in the FSS press release. All we can say before the court hearing is that we do not agree with any allegations made against us.”
When the cheese was seized, Errington said: “Although this has been a really painful day for us, it is nonetheless a relief as we may be able to get a judicial hearing of our case and get some kind of closure.
“I think personally we could not cope with another six months of the relentless aggressive harassment from those at the top of Food Standards Scotland.”
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