{"id":33436,"date":"2018-03-13T07:45:59","date_gmt":"2018-03-13T11:45:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/?p=33436"},"modified":"2018-03-12T22:15:42","modified_gmt":"2018-03-13T02:15:42","slug":"the-roquefort-rebel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/the-roquefort-rebel\/","title":{"rendered":"The Roquefort Rebel"},"content":{"rendered":"

Will Studd<\/a>, cheese expert<\/em> and<\/em> host of Cheese Slices<\/a>,  brings us the tale of how Roquefort was nearly erased from Australian cheese counters, and how he changed history.<\/em><\/p>\n

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It’s been more than two decades since Australian authorities announced that regulations allowing the sale of raw milk cheese after a 90 day holding period would be changed: Instead, a new national food code banned the sale (and local production) of ALL raw-milk cheese.   <\/span><\/p>\n

You can imagine the reaction when the Italian community discovered that short-sighted bureaucrats had banned the sale of Parmigiano Reggiano and Grana Padano. The Swiss weren\u2019t far behind in lodging their protests either. Concerned about the precedent it would set to their thriving export business, they opened diplomatic discussions with the Australian Department of Trade with a veiled threat to take the matter to the World Trade Organization.<\/span><\/p>\n

It was no surprise then when special exemptions were announced allowing the sale of Swiss cheese and \u201cvery hard cooked\u201d cheeses, made from curds heated to 118\u00b0F  or \u201cthe equivalent level of bacteria reduction.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

While the exemption satisfied the Italians and Swiss, local producers were divided on the implications of the new regulations as the ban outlawing all other types of raw milk cheese continued.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Will<\/a>

Will Studd, the Roquefort Rebel<\/p><\/div>\n

Roquefort Goes to Court<\/b><\/h3>\n

In my view, the repercussions for the future of \u201creal\u201d cheese in Australia were huge. It was time to mount my own challenge and Roquefort would be the test case. The most popular raw milk blue cheese in France, it had been freely available before the changes. If tested, it would meet the microbiological standards outlined in Australia\u2019s Food Standards code, satisfying the \u201cequivalent level of bacteria reduction\u201d exemption. <\/span><\/p>\n

In February 2002, a special consignment of 80 kilograms of pre-tested Roquefort arrived in Melbourne. It was immediately stopped at the border by import police who ordered its destruction by deep burial (or re-export) because it did not meet Australian Food Standards. A request to have the offending cheese tested by a recognized government laboratory at my expense was also rejected. It was time to start legal proceedings and appeal.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The Roquefort would spend more than a year isolated in a special cage at a warehouse whilst government authorities prepared for the case. It was a difficult period during which I was threatened with a $100,000 fine and up to 10 years jail if I continued to expose the restrictive repercussions of the case to the press. <\/span><\/p>\n

To my surprise, the National Dairy Authority and the chairman of the Australian Specialist Cheesemakers Association also publicly condemned my actions, claiming that they were undermining the reputation of Australian specialist cheese. At one point, a local dairy industry magazine even described me as a \u201ccheese terrorist.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

In 2003, on April Fools\u2019 Day, the appeal was finally heard at the Administrative Appeals Tribunal in Melbourne. As officials from Canberra filled most of the seats in the small courtroom, I remember wondering why I had been so stubborn about the principles involved. I wondered too why I had ignored friendly warnings not to waste my time and money challenging government departments with deep pockets. It was another six months before I heard the outcome: I had lost the case. <\/span><\/p>\n