This is a blue cheese made in New Zealand by Kapiti . It is a triple cream blue cheese called Kikorangi Blue and we eat it often. I'm serving it to friends at dinner this evening. A New Zealand restaurant isn't complete without Kapiti Kikorangi Blue on the cheeseboard.
France has the famous Roquefort blue cheese. The French consume 1.45 million tonnes of blue cheese annually. The blue cheese made in France is manufactured with raw milk. That is unpasteurised milk that could contain listeria monocytogenes. This little bug could be a danger to pregnant women, newborns, the elderly or people who are immune compromised. You would know if you were one of these people wouldn't you? You would eat the cheese at your own risk.
Australians will soon be enjoying the French Roquefort cheese. Authorities predict Australians will enjoy 20 - 30 tonnes of blue cheese per annum imported from France. Not New Zealanders though. No, we will be protected from this French cheese by the FSANZ . Who are the FSANZ? They are the trans Tasman group - Food Standards of Australia and New Zealand.
This is their mission statement: To protect, in collaboration with others, the health and safety of people in Australia and New Zealand through the maintenance of a safe food supply.
It is the FSANZ who have given permission to import the French cheese into Australia. Of course New Zealanders could always fly to Australia when they fancy a piece of Roquefort.
