American
cheese lovers are incensed that a rather tasty French cheese, mimolette,
has been banned by the US government on the grounds that the cheese mites that
give it such a tangy flavour could cause allergic reactions.
The
French are also pretty cheesed off that 1.5 tonnes of the distinctive cheese,
first made when Louis XIV wanted a domestic version of the Dutch cheese Edam, are
rotting away in a warehouse and can’t be eaten.
The
manufacturers claim that nobody has ever become ill from eating mimolette, that
the cheese mites are essential for the taste, and just can’t understand the
fuss. They say the cheese has been imported into the States for around 20 years
with no previous problems.
After
all, many foods that could cause allergic reactions – like peanuts and wheat -
are on sale without any objection. Allergy-prone individuals are expected simply
to avoid the offending items.
I’ve
never tried any mimolette myself so I’ve no idea whether the special taste is
worth fighting for or not. In fact until today I’d never heard of mimolette or for
that matter milbenkäse, another cheese that uses cheese mites.
Cheese
lovers are protesting vigorously, especially on a “Save The Mimolette” Facebook
page, whose slogan is “No to the Mimolette ban in the US! Let us eat stinky
cheese!” The right to nibble freely is being stoutly upheld.
I
imagine the only real hazard of eating mimolette, like cheese generally, would
be a few extra pounds on the scales. But US food inspectors seem to have got it
in for the poor defenceless cheese mites. What miserable killjoys!
Pic: not mimolette but something reassuringly mite-free....
