AFP - In the Washington suburb of Arlington, cheese shop owner Jill Erber is leading a desperate crusade to convince US authorities not to ban one of her products over the tiny mites that live on its rind.

The sign behind the counter at Cheesetique, Erber's store and wine bar where more than 200 kinds of cheese are on offer, says it all: "Save the mimolette."

In just a few weeks, "we probably won't be able to get mimolette from our distributors any longer," Erber told AFP.

The US fate of the bright-orange, mild-tasting French cheese has been in jeopardy for months and the Food and Drug Administration has blocked all further imports.

Why? Because US regulators determined the cantaloupe-like rind of the cheese was covered with too many cheese mites, even though the tiny bugs give mimolette its unique flavor.

No formal ban has been put in place, but 1.5 tonnes (3,300 pounds) of cheese were blocked from being imported, and nothing is going through US customs.