is it true there is an embargo on all dairy products? details? how long will it last?

I am working on finding out the exact details right now and as soon as I have something solid to post I will.

why?

Not my cheese!!!

You can contact Wine de Vine for more information. They were not allowed to bring in their last order of imported cheeses.

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/cheese-please-belize

As for why, I can't answer that question other than it's sheer stupidity or protectionism.

Even if this decision were proper and appropriate, it's wholly improper to announce it too late for people to respond to protect their businesses. They should give say two months' notice so people don't buy goods which will not be allowed into the country. I am told that a container of imported cheese is currently sitting in the Port. Even with refrigeration, that consignment may go off and become unsaleable. Who pays? Just like the green apple issue a year or three ago, when the first anyone knew of the ban was when Customs refused to clear a shipment. The whole lot rotted in the Port, at great expense to someone.

If there is one planned, no one who would be in charge of it knows about it, including the GOB dept responsible, the heads of the major supermarkets, etc. A little civics lesson here-this embargo would have to pass in the House, which it hasn't. GOB suspended the importation of dairy and meat products during the mad cow disease scare years ago; It has passed embargos to protect Belizean producers and at times when there isn't enough foreign exchange, which there is little of around right now. Pass the cheese please.

Thanks Katie! Civics lessons are certainly in order around here....

Why would the customs officials give 'embargo' as a reason to not clear a container? smells fishy to me, or cheesy in this case!

This has happened before. Usually it is temporary. As soon as the Mennonites sell there stock it is usually over.
The pizza parlors are the ones that get furious as the local Mozz. is unsuitable.
I think they told me that it doesn't melt, and tastes odd.

As a Swiss, I see it this way...

The US Cheese smells like plastic

The Mennonites Cheese smells like soap

Nothing else to say


It's really hard for a Cheese lover to survive on the Cayes...

Time to start up a dairy on Ambergris Caye.

:-)

I spoke with Richard Garbutt at Custome and Excise this morning. He assures me that there is no ban.
I also spoke with Wine de Vine this morning. They say that their customs broker has told them that the customs have said they cannot clear their current shipment .
Apparently WDV have a meeting with Heredia tomorrow. It does seem that there IS something behind this story because some importers were asked for lists of products they import a month ago.
We shall see what happens. Maybe the local producers have a glut which needs to be sold off...

Well said Cayemen.
One small point for the rest of us to note. Notice that Cayemen said "smells like" not "tastes like".
Why? Because no Swiss/French/Italian/Dutch housewife would dream of buying cheese without first smelling it. And it is their countries who gave us Emmental,Camembert, Brie, Mozzarella Parmesan, Edam and Gouda and most of the others. As a Brit. I am sorry to say that our own Cheddar (originally produced in Cheddar Gorge in Somerset, UK) affectionately known to my fellow countrymen as "mousetrap', these days comes in well behind the pack. Nonetheless, ALL the above even poor quality examples are STREETS ahead (or should I say FIELDS ahead?) of the plastic and soap available here.
And no, I don't have shares in Wine DeVine, although I am a customer of theirs in Belize City.

European cheese and a glass of red vino....heaven!

If they still have it, the Stilton with cranberries at Wine de vine is wonderous!

If they still have it, the Stilton with cranberries at Wine de vine is wonderous!

That must be an acquired taste, lovey.

I don't mean to say that I've tried that particular cheese at Wine de Vine, but have tried it here at home. Thought it would be delicious but found that it was just too tart for me personally and also noted that it wasn't getting gobbled up by anyone else at the party either.

Old stilton with old port is a wonderful combination. I've never tasted it with cranberries but I should think it would work.

The national cheese brands sold in the USA aren't to my palate much good, and smell/taste nothing like the European originals bearing the same names. But Canada manages to produce world-beating cheddar - why can't the USA?

English cheddar can be absolutely superb, but you need to choose "farmhouse" cheese made by small producers. The national brands aren't anything like as good, though still better than most cheese available here.

We have great cheese (sharp cheddar and pepper check are fabulous) here in California, lots of cows, dairies, etc. A good brie from France or some Guyere is so scrumptious. Oh, and munster, swiss and parmesan...yum....

Me thinks Peter should return to his cheese homeland.

A rare moment when we agree!!!

Well then I will retract my comment and deny I ever made it. Then I will retract my denial.

Poor ol' man...pitiful!!!!

pot kettle

Well theres ol' "sin cojones"

not nice to the guy who started your b'day thread........no one else would.

Embargo on Dairy Products?

No more imported Cheese & Milk?

Rumors reached our office that there was a possible embargo on dairy products in the country of Belize. This would mean that no store or business establishment would be allowed to sell imported dairy products and only local dairy products would be sold.

Ambergris Today made a quick check with Dr. Miguel Depaz of The Belize Agricultural Health Authority (BAHA) who explained that there is no embargo on dairy products and that there are only proper procedures in place for importing dairy products into the country.

He continued by saying that if new dairy products are being imported to the country they take a lot of precaution in evaluating potential hazards in foods to ensure that the various foods being imported by establishments comply with current international accepted rules and regulations for the safe handling of food.

Businesses are requested to have a Risk Analysis to be conducted by a BAHA team in order to be able to import certain food items (such as dairy products) into Belize, especially from countries where “Foot & Mouth” Disease is common, for the safety of all.

Ambergris Today

what??

Tell that to the people who have their shipments (still) held up at customs and have been told that they can't import what is produced locally.

Do they have a list of countries they feel DONT "comply with current international accepted rules and regulations for the safe handling of food" ?

So? Am I going to be able to get my Kraft Cheddar or not?

I'll hate going back to the old days when I had to bring it down myself.

Please don't try to bring in your own cheese to Belize, my dear: They will shoot you for that!

Who will shoot me for that?

Not who, but rather they and they are everywhere.

Oh! Those guys, yeah, I know them, erm, they.

...might be wearing coveralls and a checkered shirt...

Messengers tend to get shot a lot (and I have the scars to prove it!)...

Was there ever any cheese not allowed into the country?

I think it was more of a 'Stall' than a ban, so that the mennonite products had some time to sell off. Lets hope all the imported dairy that was stuck in customs doesn't all smell and look like blue cheese.

Not sure about Belize and banning some cheeses but I know that the US has banned some cheeses. There is a Swedish cheese I fond of that can no longer be imported in the US. I'm not sure of the why.

Many cheeses in Europe are made from non pasteurized or raw milk and those are banned in the US. US cheese is made only from pasteurized or "dead milk" and that is why European cheese made for local consumption tastes so good and nobody gets sick on it.

So here's the story. There IS an embargo in place on all dairy products competing with Western Dairies.
That means no full cream milk, no cheddar, no mozzarela etc may be imported.
The suggestion that this ban was inspired by a glut is true.
This info comes direct from an importer of dairy products into Belize.
different people may have different views on this.
My personal views come down to two points.
First i am fundementally against protectionism unless supporting (say) a new and growing venture. To support a mature industry (by cutting off their competition) because they got their production forecast wrong is just unacceptable. The thinking is illogical and leads us in a dangerous direction.
My second point is this. On who's authority was this done? and why has this not been publicised?
Oh I forgot, its a secret, like much this government does.
What happened to transparency?

I can see tinkering with the import duties a bit to encourage people to support a local industry but to choose ONE company and make special rules for them does seem quite odd.

Not if you were perhaps a Menonnite minister, living in Spanish Lookout, with ministerial fiat.
But then I don't know anyone like that.....

Wine de Vine received their cheese today for all you cheeseheads out there.

i have not noticed any shortage of cheese here,, but i stocked up.