China has barred the entry of all imported cheese from Britain after one UK dairy firm flunked hygiene standards tests conducted by the country's food inspectors, the British MailOnline reported on Sunday.

The ban was issued by Chinese authorities three days ago, igniting anger in the British Parliament, with one minister saying Chinese food imports should be banned in the United Kingdom in retaliation.

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According to a report by MailOnline, the cheese factory in question does not even export dairy products to the Chinese territory. Chinese officials, however, had not identified the UK dairy firm. China's ban on imported cheese from Britain was disappointing, said UK's Farming Minister George Eustice. He said the cheese factory has not been found to have breached any British law. Eustice added that the cheese manufactured in Britain has been popular around the world as it has been produced with the highest standards. 

He said that it was rather disappointing that the Chinese authorities have issued a temporary ban on imported cheese. 

UK food inspectors will visit cheese factories that export to China to check on their production quality so that the temporary ban would be lifted as soon as possible, said Eustice.

Meanwhile, All Party Parliament Cheese Group Secretary Andrew Percy remarked that the country has some of the best food manufacturing standards and has been producing internationally acclaimed cheeses.

Percy said that the move was deemed to be such an overreaction and an inconsistent response, especially when the cheese factory involved does not even have their cheese products exported to China.

Chinese inspectors visited Britain in March and asked for an appointment with a cheese manufacturer.

The visit was arranged by the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs authorities and the Dairy UK. The British cheese authorities thought the Chinese inspectors' visit was purely a general visit.

However, the Chinese conducted full inspection upon their arrival at the cheese factory. The Chinese inspectors concluded that UK cheese imports had hygiene issues, causing suspension of all imported cheese from the country starting 1 May.

The report regarding the Chinese inspection was not yet published. However, the DairyCo said that the Chinese inspectors found issued on equipment maintenance, air sanitation and the temperatures of raw milk during its transport and its chemical storage.

The British government and the country's dairy industry stakeholders, however, said the issues mentioned were minor and do not pose public health threat.

Nevertheless, the Chinese authorities were firm on their stand to implement the temporary ban until eight other cheese factories that have been exporting products to China are fully inspected.

TagsCheese, UK, cheese exports