Cheesed off with EU

Executive director Kimberly Crewther says the EU has registered the Danish cheese Danbo as a protected geographic indication (GI), meaning that the name can only be used by cheese made in Denmark.

But she says Danbo is a variety of cheese, not one connected to a particular geographic region or town and says this move has heightened concern in DCANZ that the EU is adding new trade barriers to monopolise value in the global cheese market. She says while NZ is not a big producer of Danbo there is a principle at stake and risk of such a policy expanding.

“Can we now expect the EU to seek similar protection for other common cheese names, which have been manufactured and exported by producers in NZ and elsewhere for many years? We don’t know where this will stop but you can think about a number of other common cheeses that have European origins like parmesan and mozzarella.

“We are also awaiting a ruling on Havarti and Teleme which are cheeses increasingly seen on NZ supermarket shelves as some of our boutique cheesemakers’ best,” she says.

Crewther says DCANZ has no objection to the EU’s extension of GI protections for cheeses named for their genuinely unique origins in particular locations.  But she says in the case of Danbo, every reasonable consideration for a cheese name to be considered a generic varietal term is present.  She notes that this includes past acknowledgement by Danish dairy industry bodies that Danbo is a generic cheese name and that Uruguay is a significant global producer, as a result of Danish assistance to develop manufacturing of Danbo in Uruguay. 

“Previously the Dutch sought to register gouda and edam. We went through a consultation process with them and it was agreed that they would register Holland gouda and Holland edam so it has that clear geographic reference point. The NZ industry makes edam; we don’t argue that it is Holland edam at all,” she says.

Crewther says DCANZ is pressuring the EU to change its stance and has also garnered the support of other cheese makers around the world as well as the NZ government to stop the EU’s moves.