A Cheese By Any Other Name...

As champagne is to France, now, parmesan is to Italy. According to a ruling by the European Court of Justice today, only the cheese made for the last 800 years near the city of Parma can legally be called ‘parmesan’. The case dates back to 2003 when the court criticized Germany for allowing the sale of imitation parmesan in violation of the European Union food origin rules. Parmigiano Reggiano and the very similar Grana Padano are the two most imitated Italian products in the world. The ruling echoes an earlier case against Danish producers, stating that ‘feta’ can only come from Greece. There was no punishment for Germany, but they will have to change the name. The court left it up to Italy to monitor any illegal use of the brand and report any violators to the authorities. "Fretta, chiamare il formaggio di polizia!!!" - DH