October 9, 2006

EU inspectors find contaminants in British dairy products

The EU has banned exports from a British dairy after an inspection team found cheese contaminated with antibiotics, dyes and detergents, giving rise to a possible ban of all British dairy products in the EU. 

The European Commission has announced a series of random inspections and threatened court action unless Britain could assure its health and safety procedures, the Times of London said Saturday (Oct 7).

Dairy exports to the EU from Bowland Dairy Products Ltd. of Nelson, Lancashire were banned after EU inspectors on-site found raw milk with traces of antibiotics, along with detergents and dyes used for making curd cheese.

British officials tried to assure the commission that the country's dairy products were safe for consumption and charged the EU with attacking 'the competence of the Food Standards Agency.'