WASHINGTON (AP) — Errico Auricchio produced cheese with
his family in Italy until he brought his trade to the United States more
than 30 years ago. Now, the European Union is saying his cheese isn’t
authentic enough to carry a European name.
As part of trade talks,
the EU wants to ban the use of names like Parmesan, feta and Gorgonzola
on cheese made in the United States.
The argument is that the
American-made cheeses are shadows of the original European varieties and
cut into sales and identity of the European cheeses.
Auricchio,
president of Wisconsin-based BelGioioso Cheese Inc., says he has no idea
what he would call his Parmesan if he had to find a new name.
"I Can’t Believe It’s Not Parmesan," he jokes.
The
Europeans say Parmesan should only come from Parma, Italy, not from
Auricchio’s plant or those familiar green cylinders that American
companies sell. Feta should only be from Greece, they say, even though
feta isn’t a place. The EU argues it "is so closely connected to Greece
as to be identified as an inherently Greek product."
So, a little "hard-grated cheese" for your pasta? It doesn’t have quite the same ring as
Parmesan.
U.S.
dairy producers, cheesemakers and food companies are all fighting the
idea, which they say would hurt the $4 billion domestic cheese industry
and endlessly confuse consumers.
"It’s really stunning that the
Europeans are trying to claw back products made popular in other
countries," says Jim Mulhern, president of the National Milk Producers
Federation, which represents U.S. dairy farmers.
The European
Union would not say exactly what it is proposing or even whether it will
be discussed this week as a new round of talks on an EU-United States
free trade agreement opens in Brussels.
European Commission spokesman Roger Waite would only say that the question "is an important issue
for the EU."
That’s
clear from recent agreements with Canada and Central America, where
certain cheese names were restricted unless the cheese came from Europe.
Under the Canadian agreement, for example, new feta products
manufactured in Canada can only be marketed as feta-like or feta-style,
and they can’t use Greek letters or other symbols that evoke Greece.
Though
it has not laid out a public proposal, the EU is expected to make
similar attempts to restrict marketing of U.S.-made cheeses, possibly
including Parmesan, Asiago, Gorgonzola, feta, fontina, grana, Muenster,
Neufchatel and Romano.
And it may not be just cheese. Other
products with traditional ties to European countries that could be
affected include bologna, Black Forest ham, Greek yogurt, Valencia
oranges and prosciutto, among other foods.
The trade negotiations
are important for the EU as Europe has tried to protect its share of
agricultural exports and pull itself out of recession. The ability to
exclusively sell some of the continent’s most famous and traditional
products would prevent others from cutting into those markets.
Concerned
about the possible impact of changing the labels on those popular
foods, a bipartisan group of 55 senators wrote U.S. Trade Representative
Michael Froman and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack this week asking
them not to agree to any such proposals by the EU.
Led by New York
Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Pennsylvania Sen. Patrick Toomey,
R-Pa., the members wrote that in the states they represent, "many small-
or medium-sized, family-owned businesses could have their businesses
unfairly restricted" and that export businesses could be gravely hurt.
Schumer said artisanal cheese production is a growing industry across New York.
"Muenster is Muenster, no matter how you slice it," he says.
Trevor
Kinkaid, a spokesman for the U.S. trade representative, said that
conversations on the issue are in the early stages but that the U.S. and
E.U. have "different points of view" on the topic.
The agency
wouldn’t disclose details of the negotiations, but Kinkaid said the U.S.
government is "committed to increasing opportunity for U.S. businesses,
farmers and workers through trade."
Large food companies that
mass produce the cheeses are also fighting the idea. Kraft, closely
identified with its grated Parmesan cheese, says the cheese names have
long been considered generic in the United States.
"Such
restrictions could not only be costly to food makers, but also
potentially confusing for consumers if the labels of their favorite
products using these generic names were required to change," says Kraft
spokesman Basil Maglaris.
Jaime Castaneda works for the U.S. Dairy
Export Council and is the director of a group formed to fight the EU
changes, the Consortium for Common Food Names. He says the idea that
great cheese can only come from Europe "is just not the case anymore."
He
points out that artisanal and locally produced foods are more popular
than ever here and says some consumers may actually prefer the American
brands. European producers can still lay claim to more place-specific
names, like Parmigiano-Reggiano, he says.
"This is about rural America and jobs," he says.
Auricchio
and other producers say they are angry because it was Europeans who
originally brought the cheeses here, and the American companies have
made them more popular and profitable in a huge market.
"We have
invested years and years making these cheeses," Auricchio says. "You
cannot stop the spreading of culture, especially in the global economy."
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