Europe wants its cheese names back, and some Mainers agree

[unhappycamper]

http://www.pressherald.com/news/Uh-oh__Europe_wants_its_cheese_names_back_.html

The EU says Parmesan, Gorgonzola and others are special to certain regions, and some Maine cheese-makers support the idea.

Europe wants its cheese names back, and some Mainers agree
By Whit Richardson
Staff Writer
Posted:Today
Updated: 12:33 AM

If negotiators for the European Union have their way, shoppers in the United States may need to familiarize themselves with a host of new names for such common cheeses as feta and Gorgonzola. While large cheese-makers are battling the proposed restriction, many of Maine’s cheese-makers already respect their Old World brethren’s claim and market their cheese with other names.

At issue is whether EU cheese-makers have the right to protect the names of their specialty cheeses from being marketed in the United States as Parmesan, Roquefort, Gorgonzola, Gruyère and other easily recognized names. These are also called “geographical indications,” or GIs.

The labeling issue is being discussed by trade representatives negotiating the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, the next summit of which is planned for May. The U.S. dairy industry is strongly opposing the restriction, but Maine’s artisanal cheese-makers are surprisingly considerate of the Europeans’ position.

“I completely agree with the Europeans that we should not use their cheese names. They have spent centuries developing their distinctive regional styles, and we should not steal them, or try to reproduce them,” Caitlin Hunter, head cheese-maker at Appleton Creamery, a small creamery outside Camden, said in an email.

[tblue37]

1. Artisanal cheese makers in the US could develop their own distinctive cheeses and

trademark their names, too.