The United Kingdom’s Food Standards Agency (FSA) is warning people who may have bought any of three particular brands of reblochon cheese in France to discard them, saying that French authorities have issued an alert about potential contamination with the bacteria that causes brucellosis.
The cheeses, sold under the brand names of Le Campagnard, Gaston, and Pernet Mugnier Christian, are being recalled in France following the detection of the bacteria Brucella in the unpasteurised milk used to make them.
They were sold from February to April 2012 in 450g packs. The affected cheeses were not supplied to any businesses in the UK. However, the FSA is warning people who may have travelled to France and bought the products there, not to consume them.
Brucellosis is a disease that usually affects livestock, including cattle. Infection of humans occurs through contact with infected animals or consuming unpasteurised (raw) milk or dairy products.
Brucellosis in humans is very rare in the UK, with most cases acquired abroad. Symptoms in humans vary. Some people experience no symptoms, or only a mild flu-like illness, while others experience chronic fever, which can recur for several years. Symptoms can occur up to a month after exposure.
