[April 30, 2014] It’s hard to believe I overlooked this tidbit about the on-going food figh” [pun intended] on the naming of cheese. The “European Union wants the United States to outright ban certain cheese names …”1,2 My Italian wife missed it too.
Here’s the issue in a nutshell – the EU claims that certain foods have geographic origins and, it follows, that only those geographic locations should be allowed to use that name. For example, Parmesan cheese made in Wisconsin could only be called that if made in Parma, Italy (its origin).
EU spokesperson would only say the question “is an important issue for the EU.”2 That’s because American cheese makers cut heavily into the EU cheese market. The EU’s economic union is being shaken by withdrawal from some of its weaker economies. So, by forcing others off popular names (feta, Romano, Muenster cheeses and more), they are aiding their grand economies.
The U.S., through bipartisan Congressional representatives, is pushing back. True this is a trade negotiation topic but domestic cheese producers fear the U.S. government will give up on the issue like it wants to do on the internet’s control.
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[1] Time.com/22011/europes-war-on-american-cheese/
[2] bigstory.ap.org/article/europa-wants-its-parmesan-back-seeks-name-change/