Dairy industry set to fight for right to retain European cheese names
A drastic move by the European Union could soon see the likes of Feta cheese removed from Australian shores, which will likely affect our dairy industry.
VIC News
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First Australia was robbed of Champagne, Burgundy and Chablis, now Europe wants to take our poshest cheeses as well.
Well, not quite, rather, the European Union (EU) is looking to reclaim its own speciality cheese names - attached to the regions they came from — like Feta, Stilton, Roquefort, Gruyere and Gorgonzola — as part of a new trade deal.
But the A ustralian dairy industry says any move to ban use of cheese names would be another blow for battling farmers, and it is gearing up to fight for the right to make and sell fine Aussie cheeses with European names.
Restricting cheese names would not only affect Australian dairy farmers but could also lead to job losses in milk factories and hurt regional communities, at a cost to the economy of up to $270 million over the first three years, the Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF) said.
“Reduced company sales and revenues will flow through into weaker demand and negatively impact regional farm gate prices,” VFF president David Jochinke said.
Australian Dairy Farmers chief executive David Inall said his organisation was preparing to step up its campaign on the issue.
“The D-Day for the consultation period is November 13 and we want to make sure everyone in dairy knows how GIs will affect our industry and how they can make their voice heard by Government,” Mr Inall said.
GIs are food products with names relating to their places of geographic origin.
The EU has registered a wide range of products as GIs in its meat, dairy and wine sectors, including more than 260 cheeses.
There are already a number of European wine names which can no longer be used in Australia, such as Champagne, now widely referred to as “sparkling wine”.
The Federal Government said the EU has not sought protections for general cheese and ham names such as camembert, brie, emmental, pecorino, gouda, provolone, prosciutto and speck, but there could be issues with Parmigiano Reggiano, which translated to ‘parmesan’.
Trade Minister Simon Birmingham said the Government understood the importance the EU placed on geographical indications.
“Our priority is to ensure our farmers and businesses have better opportunities to sell their products to the EU’s 500 million consumers,” he said. “We have made no promises to the EU about the protection of any names. This process is about better understanding the views of Australian industry, including cheesemakers, so that we can work to secure the best possible overall deal for Australian farmers and businesses.”
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Chief executive of Victoria’s Milawa Cheese Company Ceridwen Brown said the cheese “naming issues” would not directly affect her business, as the only generic cheese names used were Milawa Camembert and Milawa Brie which would not be problematic.
“Camembert de Normandy and Brie de Meaux have already earned protected status in these areas,” she said. “While our Milawa Blue was originally based on a Gorgonzola recipe, it has evolved and developed over the last 31 years to be its very own recipe, quite different to anything that an Italian cheesemaker would understand as Gorgonzola.”
She said overarching cheese types like blue vein, included within the category a variety of classic and specific cheeses, like Roquefort, Gorgonzola, Stilton and Milawa Blue, which is referred to on the Milawa Cheese Company’s website as “Gorgonzola-inspired”.