Artisan cheesemaker says audit cost will scupper her business

Biddy Fraser-Davies is an award-winning artisan cheesemaker and says the cost of annual audits required by the Ministry of Primary Industries are unsustainable and may put her out of business. Biddy Fraser-Davies milks four jersey cows, named Isobel, Dizzy, Holly and Patsy, and produces Cwmglyn Farmhouse Cheese from her property in Eketahuna. Her organic hard farmhouse cheese won a silver award at last year's World Cheese Awards in Britain. But Biddy says her business is under threat because of the $4,000 cost of annual verification required by the Ministry - a cost she says small artisan food producers should not have to bear.