Errington Cheese reopens its doors

Visitors will be offered a tour of the working farm, including its production facilities and Corra Linn Maturing Room, and the opportunity to watch live demonstrations of the production process of Dunsyre Blue as well as to try the cheesemaker’s award-winning produce.

For the past two years Errington has been in dispute with South Lanarkshire Council, which following an apparent link with E.coli 0157 wanted to dispose of the small business’s entire stock of cheese. The cheesemaker has since been cleared of breaching food hygiene regulations, but sales have dropped to 25% of 2016’s figures. As a result, Errington has recently been forced to lay off its two remaining employees.

Selina Cairns, director at Errington Cheese said: “It has undoubtably been the most difficult period in the company’s 36-year history, enduring an expensive legal battle which could have led to our demise.

“The courts ultimately ruled in our favour but even though we were completely cleared of breaching food hygiene regulations, the issue is far from resolved. The knock-on effect on the operation has been extremely detrimental, faced with a drop in sales and the majority of cash reserves being ploughed into covering legal costs. We regrettably had to make staff redundant and are still fighting to reclaim fees from the local authority. This is essential if we are to re-employ our loyal workforce or get back to sustainable production and sales levels.

“Despite these challenges the focus remains on what we do best, sustainably producing an enticing selection of high-quality artisan cheese.”