03.dec.06
Sydney Morning Herald
http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/roquefort-importers-blue-over-cheese-ban/2006/12/02/1164777846337.html
Imports of roquefort cheese worth more than $400,000 have been buried or sent back to France because shipments of the dairy product have been refused by quarantine authorities.
The latest shipment, valued at $20,000, was knocked back late last month by the Australian and Quarantine Inspection Services (AQIS) and is still waiting in a warehouse in Melbourne until its fate is decided.
Shipments of roquefort, one of the world's most expensive blue cheeses, were destroyed or rejected, in line with regulations set down by Food Standards Australia New Zealand, after AQIS officers found minute traces of E. coli.
France's biggest supplier of roquefort - Societe - has now refused to send any more to Australia.
Other smaller suppliers have cut back what they send.
Although a 10-year-ban on the importation of roquefort was recently lifted, the series of problems with getting the cheese cleared for sale to the Australian public means supply might soon dry up.
It was banned because it is made from unpasteurised milk and Australia requires all cheeses to be made from heat-treated milk.
"This definitely threatens the future of roquefort in this country," said Melbourne-based cheese specialist and importer Will Studd.