Cheesemaker’s produce ruled safe to eat as he wins ‘comprehensive victory’

Humphrey Errington, 74, previously succeeded in a legal case against South Lanarkshire Council, which wanted his cheese declared unsafe for consumption.

The council had called for his goods to be destroyed after an E.coli outbreak that killed a child.

However, Sheriff Robert Weir, sitting at Hamilton Sheriff Court, ruled that Errington Cheese did not fall foul of any safety rules and lifted an order preventing the sale of its Lanark Blue and Corra Linn cheeses being sold.

He also ruled, however, that four batches of cheese should be destroyed, one Lanark Blue and three Corra Linn.

Lord Bannatyne has now ruled that the sheriff “misdirected himself in law” after declaring batches of cheese had failed the satisfy food safety requirements and should be destroyed.

Mr Errington said: “The judge called the decision ‘irrational’ and said the sheriff had ignored all the evidence that the cheese was safe.

“We are now on cloud nine and view this as a comprehensive victory in our fight.

“Food Standards Scotland had hung on to the sheriff saying four batches had contained E.coli but that has now been totally dismissed.

“This is a significant legal ruling which will have lasting implications for food producers as well as the overall remit of Food Standards Scotland.

“The body was found to have acted irrationally, refusing to acknowledge the guidance of experts in this area, instead issuing dogmatic policy documents to instruct South Lanarkshire Council.

“These actions have been extremely detrimental to our business, with sales falling to as low as 25 per cent of pre-2016 levels, forcing us to lay off staff and funnel almost all our cash reserves, not to mention personal savings, into a costly legal battle.

“We’re delighted the Court of Session has ruled in our favour with the company’s efforts now focused on getting the business back on track.”

A spokeswoman for Food Standards Scotland said: “We were not a party to the judicial review which overturned the sheriff’s decision and will now consider the implications for food safety in Scotland.”