Local cheesemakers should rename their cheeses - and even cheddar should be called something else, says Kris Lloyd
South Australian cheesemakers should stop using the terms brie, camembert and even cheddar, says industry voice, Kris Lloyd.
AUSTRALIA’S cheese producers should have the courage to give their products – including cheddar – original names, says South Australia’s most prominent cheesemaker.
As the use of food and drink titles such as feta, gruyere and Scotch whisky face the axe under Australia’s free trade negotiations with the European Union, Kris Lloyd says local cheesemakers need to be on the “front foot”.
“I’ve been saying for 10 years: we will be told at some stage we can’t use these names,” Ms Lloyd, of Woodside Cheese Wrights, said.
“I don’t think we should be using ‘brie’ and ‘camembert’ – my view is those cheeses belong to the French and the tradition behind them.
“Even cheddar; Cheddar is a town in England. Should we be calling it Australian Tasty?
“We should have the courage to say, ‘we’re Australian cheesemakers and we can actually use some different terms to describe our cheese’.”
The Federal Government this week released a list of geographical indication names the European Union wants protected as part of the FTA, including varieties of olive oils, cured meats, spirits and a range of cheeses.
While Brie de Meaux and Camembert de Normandie make the list, use of the words brie and camembert alone, would be allowed – provided the packaging doesn’t look like European brands.
But “feta”, traditionally made in Greece using either sheep, or sheep and goats’ milk, is commonly used in SA – including in Kris Lloyd’s artisan range.
“Feta is one I feel on the fence about,” she said. “Feta means ‘slice’ in Greek … it doesn’t belong to a place. But I will be changing it (the name) anyway; we will call it marinated goat cheese and marinated buffalo cheese, and we have one that’s a blend as well.”
Sheree Sullivan of Udder Delights said the industry would need to come together, “like the wine industry did with Champagne”, to decide what to call what is considered the more generic cheese names on the list – feta and gruyere.
However, she wants to keep using the terms brie and camembert, “because if you’re not there to tell the customer what they are, it’s difficult for the consumer to understand what they’re purchasing”.
It’s a sentiment Ms Lloyd agrees with: “We have to be careful because we don’t want to be missing out on the guy who goes into the supermarket... and he … wants to buy a camembert, and we don’t have (something called) camembert, so we miss on their sale.”
Ms Lloyd commonly gives her cheeses unique names, such as the goats’ milk Edith – named after the French woman who taught her how to make it. In French, such a cheese would be called a crottin.
Cheese companies including Alexandrina Cheese would continue to be allowed to sell their Gouda and Edam styles – as long as they don’t use those names alongside with “Holland”.
Similarly, cured meats such as prosciutto can still be called as such, provided it’s not called Prosciutto di Parma or “di San Daniele”, which would mean they’re from that Italian region.
While Scotch beef makes the list, it’s understood the use of the term “scotch fillet” is not under threat. Local distillers would still be able to use the word whisky, as long as they don’t claim it’s Scotch.