This article is from page 6 of the 2013-03-05 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 6 JPG
A NORTH Clare cheese producer claims that they have been placed “under the microscope” by the authorities because they continue to use non-pasteurised milk in their cheese.
The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) issued a warning last Friday that E.coli had been found in a block of Kilshanny Cheese. Traces of E.coli O157 were found to be present in a block of Gouda Herb Cheese produced by the company.
A spokesperson from the North Clare company told The Clare People yesterday that Kilshanny Cheese has been targeted because they refuse to use pasteurised cheese.
“We are under the microscope all the time.
“They want us to use pasteurised milk and they are making it as difficult as possible for us to continue to operate. I am still eating the cheese, I know many of our customers are still eating the cheese and they are fine.
“Cheese was made without being pasteurised for hundreds and hundreds of years. I have been operating here for 30 years and I have never once had an issue,” said a spokesperson for Kilshanny Cheese.
“The milk is all sourced from my neighbour who runs a fantastic operation.
“I can literally push the tank over to collect the milk so there are no food miles or anything like that.
“I was producing cheese here for 10 years before I saw anybody [inspectors]. Now they are here every month.”
According to the Food Safety Authority of Ireland, the bacteria was found in a batch of cheese which was produced in September of last year and which has been sold by retailers in Clare and in Limerick Milk Market. Kilshanny Farmhouse Cheese has been ordered by the Department of Agriculture to withhold placing any further batches on the market and the FSAI has warned consumers not to eat the implicated cheese due to the possible presence of E.coli
Tests continue to be carried out on the entire stock of Kilshanny Cheese and a company spokesperson hopes that the cheese will be back on the market again soon.