What the British cheese ban means for Australia

Britain has temporarily banned the import of Brie, Camembert and other cheeses from France due to an outbreak of Lumpy Skin Disease (LSD) in dairy cattle.

The disease isn't transmissible to humans and is being treated as a biosecurity risk.

On June 24, Italy officially notified the World Health Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) of an outbreak of LSD in a herd of dairy cattle in Sardinia. An outbreak of LSD was also reported in France on June 29 near Chambéry.

So what does this mean for Australia? 9honey Kitchen has found out.

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The UK bans some cheese imports from Italy and France

Adam Gilchrist, UK reporter on 2GB's Ben Fordham Live, explains the temporary ban affects "any unpasteurised cheese imports from France and Italy".

"We don't get much from Italy, but we do from France," he said.

Gilchrist explained that while tests had been carried out in France, resulting in assurances the disease had not contaminated any of its products, "the British have taken a stance that until we're sure, we're gonna ban your cheese".

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Gilchrist also pointed out Britain is home to locally-produced English Brie, which he says is "at least as good as the French".

"So I think we'll be okay," he said.

Those cheeses subject to the ban in the UK include any made with raw milk or unpasteurised milk, which includes some of France's most famous cheeses such as Vacherin, Roquefort, Mimolette and Tomme.

Some artisan brie and camembert is made with unpasteurised dairy, however factory-produced Brie and Camembert is made with pasteurised milk.

Most Italian cheeses such as parmesan are made with pasturised milk, however artisan-produced mozzarella and pecorino are made with raw milk and may be impacted.

Any cheeses produced before May 23 are exempt from the British import ban. The UK's import ban also affects the import of live cattle.

Many cheese sellers in the UK agree with Gilchrist, that the ban is a step too far.

Shane Holland, a cheese retailer based in London, told The Independent "The bigger question is, what is the ban for?

"We completely understand restricting the movement of live cattle. LSD is an infectious disease from cattle to cattle.

"But if we're talking about from cattle to milk, there's no cattle-to-human transmission at all. Even if there was the tiniest risk, it's not being consumed by cattle anyway."

Managing the biosecurity risk to Australia

The Australian Government Department of Agriculture of Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) tells 9honey Kitchen: "Imported raw milk cheeses must meet both food safety and biosecurity requirements.

"Lumpy skin disease (LSD) is a serious viral disease that primarily affects cattle and buffalo. LSD is transmitted between animals. It is not a human health risk and cannot be transmitted to humans by eating affected animal products.

"The risk of LSD in imported products is therefore potentially an animal biosecurity risk, not a concern for human food safety. Animal biosecurity risks are managed by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, not Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ)."

Australia is currently free of LSD.

"There are currently only two raw milk cheeses of French origin which are permitted for import to Australia. Both are made from sheep's milk," the department spokesperson explained.

"LSD does not affect ovine/caprine species which include sheep and goats. Trade in these raw milk cheese products derived from sheep is therefore not impacted by the outbreak of LSD in France."

The spokesperson explained: "The United Kingdom has suspended the import of raw milk cheeses from France that were derived from bovine animals, which include cattle.

"However, whilst there are also other cheeses that are not pasteurised eg Comte, a heat treatment is applied which manages the biosecurity risks of LSD and may continue to be imported into Australia."

Aussie cheese shops on alert

Valerie Henbest who runs Smelly Cheese Co in Adelaide says they have been "staying in close contact with health authorities both here and France (and Italy)" to monitor the situation.

Henbest is a Cheese Specialist and Educator who was born in Normandie, France, the home of camembert who runs the business Smelly Cheese Co. via which she has been importing her favourite cheeses from her homeland for the past 20 years.

"In May, the Australian Department of Agriculture, fisheries and forestry has updated its report on import risk assessments for dairy products. In this update, the Australian authorities recognise heat treatment as inactivating the virus of lumpy skin disease," she said.

"Therefore, it is no longer required that the country of origin must be free from LSD, provided that the milk and/or the dairy product have undergone heat treatment.

"As such, and with the exception of raw milk cheese of bovine origin, trade is not affected by this episode of LSD in France (and Italy)."

Supermarket cheeses

French and Italian cheeses being stocked in Australian supermarkets have not been impacted.

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The department spokesperson reassures Aussie shoppers "there is no need for concern".

"The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry takes the threat of LSD very seriously and remains confident that our biosecurity settings are appropriate to manage the biosecurity risk," they said.

"With respect to imported goods and outbreaks of LSD in Europe the Department Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry will continue to monitor and provide updates on the situation on its website."

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