China Bans European Soft Cheese

[liuzhou]

According to reports, China has banned the import of certain European soft cheeses because they "have too much bacteria"!

 

Whiff of discontent as China bans imports of soft European cheese.

 

I want to get hold of the brainless idiot who came up with this and point out his body probably contains more bacteria than any cheese. And the cheese definitely has more brains and knows more about science!

 

Bacteria does not mean bad! China loves fermented foods They are everywhere. A bit difficult to ferment anything without bacteria. Lactobacillis bacteria is in most of the foods they eat, just like it is in cheese! Grrrr!

 

(The tragic thing is that I was eating the last of my imported brie when I read the report.)

 

 

Edited September 10, 2017 by liuzhou (log)

[JoNorvelleWalker]

23 minutes ago, liuzhou said:

According to reports, China has banned the import of certain European soft cheeses because they "have too much bacteria"!

 

Whiff of discontent as China bans imports of soft European cheese.

 

I want to get hold of the brainless idiot who came up with this and point out his body probably contains more bacteria than any cheese. And the cheese definitely has more brains and knows more about science!

 

Bacteria does not mean bad! China loves fermented foods They are everywhere. A bit difficult to ferment anything without bacteria. Lactobacillis bacteria is in most of the foods they eat, just like it is in cheese! Grrrr!

 

(The tragic thing is that I was eating the last of my imported brie when I read the report.)

 

 

 

 

Reminds me of the fictional (I believe) motion picture 1,2,3 in which the Soviets reject a train load of cheese from Switzerland -- "All full of holes!"

 

[Duvel]

51 minutes ago, liuzhou said:

(The tragic thing is that I was eating the last of my imported brie when I read the report.)

I feel with you - what is life without decent cheese ! Let me know the next time you cross the border to HK and I'll prepare a "care package" for you ...

[chefmd]

11 hours ago, liuzhou said:

According to reports, China has banned the import of certain European soft cheeses because they "have too much bacteria"!

 

Whiff of discontent as China bans imports of soft European cheese.

 

I want to get hold of the brainless idiot who came up with this and point out his body probably contains more bacteria than any cheese. And the cheese definitely has more brains and knows more about science!

 

Bacteria does not mean bad! China loves fermented foods They are everywhere. A bit difficult to ferment anything without bacteria. Lactobacillis bacteria is in most of the foods they eat, just like it is in cheese! Grrrr!

 

(The tragic thing is that I was eating the last of my imported brie when I read the report.)

 

 

 

I read about it in Financial Times and immediately thought about you!   Sooooooo sorry.  Can't imagine life without Brie so ripe, it spreads all over the plate.

[dcarch]

14 hours ago, liuzhou said:

I want to get hold of the brainless idiot who came up with this and point out his body probably contains more bacteria than any cheese. And the cheese definitely has more brains and knows more about science!

 

May have nothing to do with bacteria and science. 

perhaps international economic politics? trade negotiations/deals? Like "If you buy my cooked chickens, I will buy your beef"?

 

dcarch 

Edited September 10, 2017 by dcarch (log)

[Anna N]

Just saying...

 

 

[liuzhou]

3 hours ago, dcarch said:

 

May have nothing to do with bacteria and science. 

perhaps international economic politics? trade negotiations/deals? Like "If you buy my cooked chickens, I will buy your beef"?

 

dcarch 

 

 

Given the miniscule market for soft cheeses in China, that is rather unlikely.  If they wanted to.start another trade war, they're are many other commodities which would make a lot more sense.

[dcarch]

59 minutes ago, liuzhou said:

 

Given the miniscule market for soft cheeses in China, that is rather unlikely.  If they wanted to.start another trade war, they're are many other commodities which would make a lot more sense.

 

Difficult to say what's behind this ridiculous action:

"---------------However it seems possible that cheese ban is itself a tit-for-tat response to an earlier move by the UK. On April 30, the day before British cheese exports to China were blocked, the UK adopted an EU law that bans the sale of unlicensed herbal products, in particular those used for Chinese herbal medicine.------"

 

dcarch

[helenjp]

I agree, it's da economy. As East Asian countries consume more meat and dairy, opportunities for PROCESSED dairy products (preferably made from cheap imported milk powder, milk fats, or whey) also increase. Dairy imports - China Soft cheeses like camembert are especially lucrative, and certainly Japan has been keen to find reasons to reduce imports of those soft cheeses, while encouraging domestic brands to take up the slack. Tariffs all over 20%, with some ready-to-eat products like flavored yogurts and soft cheeses attracting 45% in import duties. 

Maybe in China too, the dairy producers tend to be (ex?) public or semi-public corporations that are big enough to exert political pressure to gain red-blooded protection for the tinsy tiny domestic dairy industry. For a few years, this situation made it almost impossible to buy retail butter - imports seemed to have disappeared from ordinary supermarkets, while domestic butter supplies were either funneled into the big cake and confectionery manufacturers, or released only as "butter-added" spreads and margarines.

Japanese camembert has certainly improved, just as well, as imported soft cheese is too rich for my budget. I don't anticipate seeing anything more adventurous than fresh mozzarella and camembert though.

The "bacteria" thing is a biggie though - natto in Japan or stinky tofu in China is fine, fermented milk products suspicious, and fresh meat sausages and salami obviously part of a fiendish western plot...

[liuzhou]

4 hours ago, helenjp said:

I agree, it's da economy. As East Asian countries consume more meat and dairy, opportunities for PROCESSED dairy products (preferably made from cheap imported milk powder, milk fats, or whey) also increase. Dairy imports - China Soft cheeses like camembert are especially lucrative, and certainly Japan has been keen to find reasons to reduce imports of those soft cheeses, while encouraging domestic brands to take up the slack. Tariffs all over 20%, with some ready-to-eat products like flavored yogurts and soft cheeses attracting 45% in import duties. 

Maybe in China too, the dairy producers tend to be (ex?) public or semi-public corporations that are big enough to exert political pressure to gain red-blooded protection for the tinsy tiny domestic dairy industry. For a few years, this situation made it almost impossible to buy retail butter - imports seemed to have disappeared from ordinary supermarkets, while domestic butter supplies were either funneled into the big cake and confectionery manufacturers, or released only as "butter-added" spreads and margarines.

Japanese camembert has certainly improved, just as well, as imported soft cheese is too rich for my budget. I don't anticipate seeing anything more adventurous than fresh mozzarella and camembert though.

The "bacteria" thing is a biggie though - natto in Japan or stinky tofu in China is fine, fermented milk products suspicious, and fresh meat sausages and salami obviously part of a fiendish western plot...

I disagree re China. If that were the real reason, they would have stopped imports of hard cheeses which make up a far larger market (though still small). They haven't.

 

The tinsy tiny domestic dairy industry? The domestic dairy market in China is huge but the largest producers are joint venture companies with foreign countries, particularly New Zealand. I'm not aware that any of them make soft cheeses.Hard cheeses, yes.

Edited September 11, 2017 by liuzhou (log)

[helenjp]

Sorry, sorry, I didn't mean the scale of the dairy market, I meant to say that the number of primary sector producers of dairy products is small!