20 Tons of Emmental Cheese Vanishes in Germany, Valued at €80,000

German authorities are searching for a truck carrying 20 tons of Emmental cheese, which disappeared after being loaded in Bayreuth, Germany. The shipment was destined for a customer in France but never arrived. The stolen cheese is estimated to be worth approximately 80,000 euros. A Bulgarian company was contracted to transport the cheese via an online portal, and the load was picked up last Monday. It remains unclear where the truck driver went after collecting the cargo, but police suspect theft. This incident highlights a growing trend of dairy product theft, driven by increased market prices. Similar thefts have occurred recently, including 21 tons of butter disappearing in Poland last November and over 21 tons of Trappist cheese vanishing after pickup in Germany the month prior. These figures are tracked by the "Stolen Dairy" reporting center, an initiative of the Dutch dairy industry. While most reports come from Dutch companies, other European businesses also file them. The reporting center published ten missing cargo reports last year, with none yet this year. The exact number of thefts is difficult to ascertain due to the absence of a mandatory reporting requirement, suggesting the actual number of missing cheese and milk shipments may be higher.