At the World Cheese Awards in Portugal, British entries were conspicuous by their absence after failing to clear import controls

On Friday, 240 experts from 40 countries descended on Viseu in northern Portugal for the World Cheese Awards. The judges sampled throughout the day, with a washed-rind raw sheep’s milk cheese from the host country, queijo de ovelha amanteigado, named the best.

But throughout the afternoon, the British contingent noticed something strange: gaps on several of the tables. Britain’s cheeses, it transpired, hadn’t passed customs, and were robbed of the chance to compete with the world’s best.