The Moulin de Carel cheese company asked consumers who had bought any of the 5,800 250-gramme Camemberts under the lot number L19009C to bring them back to their points of sale.

“A test has shown the presence of E.Coli 026 H11 in these products”, which have been on sale since January 31 this year, the firm said in a statement. “We therefore ask people who have these products not to consume them,” it said.

Many strains of E coli usually cause humans no harm, but there have been cases of people falling extremely ill and even dying from an E coli-related illness.

Cows in a field near the Normandy village of Camembert, where the famous cheese originated. Photo: AFP

Moulin de Carel, which is part of the Lactalis group, added in its statement that anyone who may have symptoms of E.Coli poisoning after eating its products should immediately contact a doctor.

It has also set up a helpline for anyone who may be worried after consuming one of its cheeses. The number to call is 05 65 58 54 17.

Symptoms, which can sometimes take several days to appear, include diarrhoea, stomach cramps, nausea, and vomiting.

Last April a report claimed that ten people had died and another 80 had fallen ill in France after eating contaminated Morbier and Mont d'Or cheese in a salmonella outbreak that health authorities knew about but did not act upon.