Stores experience run on European cheese Thursday March 15, 2001 Home Return to       In the News Stores experience run on European cheese Last Updated: Thursday March 15, 2001 | 11:49 AM ET CBC News European cheeses are flying off store shelves in Ottawa. Customers are stocking up in reaction to the federal government's import ban on European farm products. The ban includes unpasteurized cheeses, such as French Brie. Elise Bochmann is among those searching for her favourite cheese before it runs out. "I just find it really sad that we cannot eat any more European cheese," she says. Canadian authorities fear the soft cheese may carry foot-and-mouth disease, which is infecting European livestock. The ban covers cheese that arrived in Canada as of Feb. 27. Pat Nicastro is owner of La Bottega on George Street. "Nobody really knows what's going on yet," he says. A lot of cheeses are affected. A lot of cheeses aren't affected. We have to know specifically which ones." Store managers expect to hear from their suppliers over the next few days on which varieties they can carry.