PA News, 10 May 1999
Gastronomes in Britain were today backing specialist varieties of cheese such as Cheddar, Cheshire and Lancashire which look set to be banned under EU rules. The cheeses, made by many of Britain’s small farms, use unpasteurised milk, a process the EU intends to ban following food poisoning scares.

This Euromyth, which first appeared in the press in 1992 when the Council adopted a directive on public health rules for the production and sale of raw-milk products including some cheeses, has appeared again. Then, as now the UK was at the forefront of demands for the directive.
The UK Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF) recently have produced consultations on diary product hygiene and on raw milk production regulations. The directive states that milk should come from animals and holdings which satisfy the health and safety requirements and are inspected regularly. The cheese produced should comply with specific …

The last producer of Caerphilly cheese in Caerphilly has been forced to close having been told that it was illegal to take delivery of unpasteurised milk in metal churns.

Western Mail, p1, 25 April 1995

Daily Telegraph, p5, 25 April 1995

Daily Mail, p5, 25 April 1995

Daily Star, p9, 25 April 1995

The Sun, pp6 & 9, 25 April 1995

Daily Mirror, p13, 25 April 1995

Today, p15, 25 April 1995
The transportation of milk is governed by two Directives (Council Directive 92/46/EEC and 94/71/EEC) regulating the transportation of heat-treated and pasteurised milk from the farm to the dairy or processing plant. They ensure that churns and tanks of more than four litres must be ‘hermetically sealed before and during transport by means of a watertight sealing device’.
However, these provisions only apply to heat-treated or pasteurised milk. Raw or unpasteurised milk, though covered by both Directives, may still be transported in open churns. Despite this, general practice …

Statement: EC bureaucrats are responsible for stopping customers enjoying favourites such as a ploughman’s lunch thanks to a Directive regulating the temperature at which cheese may be served.

Response: This is untrue. There is a Directive dealing with the Hygiene of milk and dairy products (Ref: 92/46); however this does not cover the temperature at which cheeses may be served as it does not deal at all with sales direct to the customer. Moreover the Community has no intention of regulating in this area. Any such action is left to the Member States.

The Directive refers directly only to the temperature at which pasteurised milk needs to be stored. The one other reference to temperature deals with the temperature at which cheese should be transported and this is regulated by the manufacturer. It is up to the cheese producer to suggest the best temperature at which his product should be both stored and transported …

Myth: The French media campaigned earlier this year against a proposed Directive laying down health rules for the production and placing on the market of raw milk and in particular milk-based products (soft cheeses etc).

Response: The Council adopted on 16.6.1992 (Official Journal L 268 of 14.9.1992) a Directive on health rules for the production and placing on the market of raw milk, heat-treated milk and milk-based products. This Directive will come into effect on 1.1.1994. As far as soft cheeses are concerned, the Directive states that the milk used should come from animals and holdings which satisfy the health and hygiene requirements and which are inspected regularly. The cheese produced should also comply with specified microbiological criteria (checks for Listeria, Salmonella, Escherichia coli, etc). Products may be withdrawn from the market if they fail to reach the compulsory criteria.