A fancy cheese retailer had its products recalled just before Christmas because they might contain E. coli

• A top cheesemaker recalled four of its products as they may contain E.coli.
• The UK's food-standards agency issued a warning about the cheese just in time for Christmas Day.

A high-end cheesemaker warned people not to eat its products this Christmas over concerns that they may contain E.coli.

The UK's Food Standards Agency issued a recall on four products from Mrs Kirkham's Lancashire Cheese Ltd, saying any of them bought after October 1 this year might be contaminated.

Its latest warning came on Sunday — just ahead of Christmas Day — when many families would have been readying to tuck into festive cheeseboards.

The recall affects the company's Mild & Creamy Lancashire, Tasty Lancashire, Mature Lancashire, and Smoked Lancashire products.

"The cheeses are sometimes sold as a full block or served as individual portions, it may have been provided as part of a hamper you've purchased or been gifted," the FSA wrote.

"In some cases it's been sold as part of a charcutier grazing platter," the watchdog explained.

In cases like that "it may not always be clear whether you have purchased an affected product."

The cheese may be contaminated with a variety of E.coli — Shiga toxin-producing E. coli, or STEC — that can cause severe diarrhoea, abdominal pain, and potentially haemolytic uremic syndrome, the FSA wrote.

HUS is "a serious condition that can lead to kidney failure and can be fatal," the warning continued.

Lancashire cheese is a creamy cow's milk cheese from the northwestern English county of the same name, and has been made there for centuries.

One variety, the Beacon Fell Traditional Lancashire Cheese, has Protected Designation of Origin status from the European Commission — an accolade it shares with products like Champagne, affirming that it's made in one area, and has distinct characteristics from that area.

Per its website, Mrs Kirkham's Lancashire Cheese company has operated since 1978 and is one of the UK's only remaining dairies to use traditional methods. It also claims to be the last maker of Lancashire cheese to use unpasteurized milk.

The company is not the only one to recall cheese before Christmas. On Friday, artisanal French maker Route des Terroirs recalled its Morbier Maison Monts & Terroirs Chalet De Vevy variety of cheese, as sold in England, over the same concerns about harmful E.coli, the FSA announced.

The company did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment, sent outside of working hours.