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Get your free copy02 April 2013, 09:58 AM
- Sales of Stilton and other blue cheeses are falling because younger consumers are afraid to eat the mould, a new study has found
The survey, carried out by the Co-operative, found that the number of people under 45 buying the cheese has dropped by 18% in the last two years.
Consumption by people under 30 has fallen by 23%, and few under 25 would ever consider buying it regularly.
Mark Cloudy, cheese buyer for the Co-operative, said, “This cheese is part of Britain’s heritage. We can’t stand by and let it fade away, yet the people who like it are getting old.
“Millions of young people have been taught not to eat food with mould on it, and that view is having a catastrophic effect upon blue Stilton. They take one look at the blue veins running through the cheese and then turn away.
“We want to tell everyone just how good blue Stilton is. It is one of the best cheeses in the world, and it’s produced here in Britain – yet few people realise what a gem they have on their own doorstep.”
However, sales of Stilton in Europe and the US have skyrocketed, with some buyers paying £30 per kilogram, over three times the UK price.
