Cheese names under threat

New Zealand's dairy industry has been left facing the risk that European Union naming restrictions, already imposed on wine labelling, will be extended to other foods such as cheese.

The World Trade Organisation has upheld the European Union's right to protect food names, such as roquefort cheese, even though its rules discriminate against products from outside Europe.

The complex legal verdict has serious implications in export sectors where "New World" manufacturers rely heavily on product names derived from Old World place names.

Because cheese names were "exported" with European migration around the world, the overwhelming majority of names of cheeses which are widely traded internationally are European.

New Zealand earns $1 billion a year from cheese exports and Fonterra has previously warned that in an extreme scenario, half of that revenue could be disrupted if the EU restricted the use of traditional cheese names - such as feta, brie, parmesan, camembert, gouda, edam, emmental and even the humble cheddar - only to cheeses produced in the relevant region.

Such a move would require re-branding half of New Zealand's cheese exports, and leave it permanently handicapped in export markets.

Of the 300,000 tonnes of NZ's annual cheese production, about half is a type of cheddar, which is no longer produced in the English town of that name.

Other commentators have said a New Zealand place name for a type of cheese or beer is unlikely to have a lot of would-be imitators.

In recent years New Zealand liquor companies have lost the ability to sell product such as Champagne, Burgundy, Bordeaux and other geographical names such as Oporto (port) and Jerez (sherry), unless the wine has been produced in those regions.

A key issue for cheese makers such as Fonterra is whether similar constraints should be placed on parmesan, feta, and mozzarella, which are mass-produced in this country.

Fonterra has said that it has no difficulty with the protection of legitimate geographical indicators in Europe for minor cheeses such as Roquefort or Gorgonzola.

But some regional names - such as feta, parmesan, emmental and cheddar - have long been recognised as generic products by Fonterra's consumers around the world.

New Zealand manufactures about 145,000 tonnes of cheddar and 25,000 tonnes of mozzarella each year.

The Dairy Companies Association of New Zealand, has also criticised EU efforts to restrict the use of the term "parmesan" to only cheese from the Italian region of Parma.

Association chairman Earl Rattray has argued that EU members Germany and Ireland both produce parmesan cheese for export.

"Parmesan cheese has been produced in many countries for many years and is invariably labelled with the country of origin," said Mr Rattray, who has described the protection of "parmesan" as a "Eurocentric claim".

He said consumers of parmesan were not so unworldly as to confuse the non-Italian product with the expensive boutique cheese, Parmigiano Reggiano, matured at Parma.

- NZPA