COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Ohio cheese producers are pushing back against an EU proposal to limit the use of European names such as Parmesan, feta and Gorgonzola on American-made cheeses.
The Ohio Dairy Producers Association, which represents Ohio’s $1 billion dairy industry, believes stripping the names from its products could hit the industry hard, The Columbus Dispatch reports (https://bit.ly/1kTfpyt ).
“The deepest impact would be the inability for our companies to use those brand names and market them overseas, in the U.S. or locally,” said CEO Scott Higgins. “We just can’t stand to take that risk.”
The EU’s argument is that American-made cheeses pale compared to the originals and cut into sales and identity of authentic European varieties.
The law it seeks to enforce is aimed at protecting the reputation of regional foods and helping farmers maintain value, the newspaper reports.
It would apply to a host of common cheese names, including Asiago, Cheddar, Camembert, Edam, Provolone, Ricotta, Roquefort and Stilton, as well as to certain meat products, wines including Champagne, spirits and “aromatized drinks” such as Sangria.
Angel King, co-owner of Blue Jacket Dairy near Bellefontaine in Logan County, said, “While I respect the desire of the EU to protect the names of (its) cheeses … we’re talking about a type of cheese” whose name is commonly used.
Ohio’s U.S. senators, Democrat Sherrod Brown and Republican Rob Portman, have joined a letter asking U.S. trade negotiators to fight the naming restrictions.
Portman says 11 Ohio cheese-makers would be affected by the change.
“America’s dairy farmers and producers work hard to develop a product and brand that resonates with their customers,” Portman said in a statement. “If the EU succeeds in establishing trade guidelines that would restrict branding, it could hurt product sales and jobs here in Ohio.”
Ohio is the nation’s 10th largest cheese producer, according to the latest available figures from the U.S. Agriculture Department. The state produced 198.9 million pounds of cheese in 2012.
The state has for years been the top-ranked U.S. producer of Swiss cheese, which doesn’t appear affected by the EU proposal. Ohio Swiss cheese accounted for 43 percent of domestic production in 2012, according to the USDA.
Many Ohio cheese producers have made their cheeses for generations, some after emigrating from Europe. Some smaller cheese producers say it’s the large operators who are most concerned.
Jean MacKenzie, outgoing president of the year-old Ohio Cheese Guild, renamed a “bucheron” goat’s milk cheese three years ago rather than fight a U.S. licensee of the name.
“We’ll just call it Baby Buche and a Bucheron-style cheese,” said Mackenzie, owner of Mackenzie Creamery in Hiram.
Neville McNaughton, an artisanal cheese-maker consultant with CheezSorce in St. Louis, said giving fanciful names to cheeses can be a way to attract customers while honoring the product’s origins.
“I’m a New Zealander, and we can’t use the word ’feta,’?” McNaughton said. “We embrace global values because it’s about respect.”
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Information from: The Columbus Dispatch, https://www.dispatch.com
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