A Scottish blue cheese was the source of last year’s E. coli outbreak which led to the death of a three-year-old girl and the hospitalisation of 17.

A report from Health Protection Scotland has been issued today with the conclusion and Food Standards Scotland (FSS) has said it “fully supports the report’s findings.”

Dunsyre Blue - from Errington Cheese in Lanark, South Lanarkshire - had been linked to the bacterial infection outbreak last summer which caused one fatality.

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Errington Cheese maintained there was no link between its produce and the outbreak.

However, in a statement, FSS has today revealed that another cheese from Errington, Corra Linn, was also found to contain E. coli.

“If Food Standards Scotland had not issued its Food Alert for Action, this cheese - which had the potential to cause serious illness - would have been available for human consumption,” said the watchdog.

Geoff Ogle, FSS chief executive, said: “Food Standards Scotland is satisfied the evidence and conclusions presented in this report fully support and justify the decisions that we took to protect consumers.

“All of our decisions and actions were taken with the sole aim of protecting public health.

READ MORE: Food watchdog bans Errington cheese sales amid E.coli outbreak

“This report should allay any concerns with regards to our decisions and assure others that our actions were evidence based.

“That will always be the case.”

Just five days ago, the Evening Times reported how Errington restarted production.

FSS said Errington’s new season Lanark Blue cheese has now been put on the market.

It has been produced under a “revised food safety management system,” said the food body.