Author Topic: Mimolette stopped by FDA  (Read 10202 times)

Offline Boofer

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Mimolette stopped by FDA
« on: April 16, 2013, 11:49:53 PM »
We're talking crazy here:

Mimolette

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bbracken677

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Re: Mimolette stopped by FDA
« Reply #1 on: April 16, 2013, 11:58:12 PM »
Next they will put brie and cams on detained status because they are covered in mold!!!

hoeklijn

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Re: Mimolette stopped by FDA
« Reply #2 on: April 17, 2013, 06:30:21 AM »
And how do they see us Europeans? As omnivorous barbarians that can eat and survive everything? I didn't read any messages here about people from France dying from eating Mimolette...
Apparently the pharmaceutical industry has more money to lobby for their pain clinics than the cheese makers from France have...

BobE102330

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Re: Mimolette stopped by FDA
« Reply #3 on: April 17, 2013, 12:03:22 PM »
Not to get too off topic, but somewhat related since it pertains to how ridiculous government can be. 

Herman, I understand your intent, but as a person with chronic pain I need to point out that the pain medication problem is very exaggerated.  Fewer than 20% of overdose deaths in the US had a prescription written for them and the way the CDC reports statistics the same death can count multiple times.  For the recent report of "17,000 opioid related deaths" only 9,000 people died. No toxicology was evaluated. Close friends and family were asked if the person had received a prescription for opioids in the last year.  A gunshot death would be counted as two opioid deaths if the victim had received Vicodin and Percocet prescriptions. (not uncommon as the doctor titrates medications for pain control) They also bury the fact that in the group with prescriptions 2/3 of the deaths were suicides.  Were the suicides the fault of the opioid or the chronic pain that often leads to depression and other psychiatric issues?  The government has an agenda even reporting "scientific" data, imagine that!  Check sources and methodology of supposed scientific studies.

Guess I will have to find some Mimolette before I need to take a vacation to try it.  There is a new store nearby that's supposed to have a great cheese section.  Here's hoping.

Sailor Con Queso

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Re: Mimolette stopped by FDA
« Reply #4 on: April 17, 2013, 02:07:56 PM »
Actually true raw milk bries and cams are already illegal to import because they are not aged the minimum of 60 days. All of ours are generally stabilized and made from pasteurized milk. So, it is not possible to buy an authentic brie in the USA.

As a microbiologist, I understand the FDAs position if they found live mites. Doesn't mean that I agree with it.

Dibbs

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Re: Mimolette stopped by FDA
« Reply #5 on: April 17, 2013, 08:33:51 PM »
Don't worry about it.  You're not missing much.

Offline Boofer

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Re: Mimolette stopped by FDA
« Reply #6 on: April 18, 2013, 12:53:31 AM »
Don't worry about it.  You're not missing much.
I would agree. I sampled it a couple years ago and found it not exceptionally attractive. :P

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iratherfly

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Re: Mimolette stopped by FDA
« Reply #7 on: April 18, 2013, 05:26:18 AM »
I am not a huge fan of Mimolette, but I don't need the government to tell me which cheese I should be a fan of. Allergies from mites??? What about people that have wheat allergies? No more bread in stores? What about berry allergies?  I find it highly suspicious and untrustworthy that the FDA finds it their mission to be the advocate of specifically only people with mite allergies (do you know anyone allergic to it?).  It's a currupt organization whose mission is to appease Kraft Monsanto and whomever else buys their employees fancy dinner on Capitol Hill.  And then they approve the GMO Frankenfish and let 80% of the rennet in the US become GMO since 1999 when it was 0%. And after all these years of fighting raw milk, who gets listeria? Right consumers who bought that pasteurized Italian Ricotta a few months ago and dropped dead.

Amazing how the US constitution does not protect your right to choose your own food. This nation's forefathers could have never imagines an absurd existance where this would no longer be a human right.

And having said that, I do not mean in any way to discount the important role I think government SHOULD have in consumer protections (including food. And regulations of raw milk).  I just don't think that this selective protectionism and attacks on specific subcategories of food represents the public's interest.  There are safe handling instructions for example on every raw meat package sold in this country.  For people who don't know how to and may make themselves sick. Why not on raw milk?  And what's the difference between allergies to cheese mites and allergies to other molds or species?  Utter nonsense.

hoeklijn

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Re: Mimolette stopped by FDA
« Reply #8 on: April 18, 2013, 06:27:45 AM »
Herman, I understand your intent, but as a person with chronic pain I need to point out that the pain medication problem is very exaggerated.

Bob, no offence mend. And I must admit that my judgement (and anger) is only based on a couple of documentaries that I saw here in Europe about the subject of pain clinics and how easy it was for junks to buy all kind of drugs there. And my anger about silly decisions of the FDA where I read about (this one and e.g. the closing of cheese caves in New York some time ago). As always the complete story will be more complicated.
But I hate it when I see gouvernments restrict freedom of choise (especially for food) based on these kind of arguments or based on lobbying by big companies (Monsanto?)

BobE102330

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Re: Mimolette stopped by FDA
« Reply #9 on: April 18, 2013, 12:02:26 PM »
No offense taken Herman. It is unfortunate that politics degenerates into supporting those who support the incumbents.  Many government regulations serve little purpose other than raising barriers to competition. 

For all the hype about how easy it is to get prescriptions and "dirty doctors" there have only been 9 doctors jailed in New York in the last 10 years for improper prescribing of opioids.  Sounds to me like making it a bigger problem so politicos can be seen as doing something about it.

Sailor Con Queso

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Re: Mimolette stopped by FDA
« Reply #10 on: April 18, 2013, 01:55:05 PM »
IRF,

From an immunological standpoint lots of people are specifically allergic to mites. Molds are a completely different type of allergy and it's easy to spot a moldy cheese. But to me the issue was/is not about allergies from the mites. My understanding is that the FDA found live mites in samples. Bugs can and do carry disease and that's a potential health problem. Since the company claims that they kill off all of the mites before shipment, that shows a breakdown in their procedures that needs to be rectified. Perhaps they have gotten a little complacent over the years and need to rethink their techniques. Or perhaps some equipment is worn out and needs to be modernized.

I disagree with the conspiratorial theory that the FDA is a corrupt organization. As a cheesemaker, I welcome their scrutiny. If I'm doing something wrong, show me. The fact is that they did discover a widespread Listeria problem at a well known raw milk cheese company right here in Kentucky in late 2012 and issued not one but 2 large recalls. Turns out that the raw milk holding tanks themselves were contaminated, which had implications for every cheese made there. Fortunately the FDA caught the situation before there were any deaths or illnesses. Complacency and equipment were definitely factors.

Yes, warning labels can be helpful, so why isn't there one on the Mimolette? Don't people have a right to know that there are mites (dead or alive) in their cheese?

Offline Al Lewis

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Re: Mimolette stopped by FDA
« Reply #11 on: April 15, 2015, 01:23:43 PM »
Well for those interested enough to want to try some...http://www.murrayscheese.com/mimolette.html#
Making the World a Safer Place, One Cheese at a Time! My Food Blog and Videos

MarkHamson

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Re: Mimolette stopped by FDA
« Reply #12 on: April 16, 2015, 12:44:20 PM »
Living in France I am spoiled for choice on European foods, even the lower end supermarkets seem to have a huge amount of space for cheeses.
whilst Mimolette is not among my favorite of Cheeses it is sad to hear about any cheese being banned, surely the administration could have traced the source of this and any other batch that was believed to have contained mites, and instead of a blanket ban, inform individual suppliers / manufacturers.

over here whilst there is legislation and control, it often seems more relaxed, I recall at the height of the horse meat scandal many supermakets simply put up notices warning you that the product may or may not contain this, they did not remove the product, but it up to your own choice.


hoeklijn

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Re: Mimolette stopped by FDA
« Reply #13 on: April 17, 2015, 05:50:22 AM »
And besides that, there's nothing wrong with good quality horse meat, it's one of the few where the tast gets better when the horse gets older.
But the consumer has the right to know what's in the food so they can make a choise...