Europe wants the U.S. to call domestic Parmesan something else

Europe is getting territorial with its Parmesan. In recent trade talks, the European Union has asked that certain European names for cheese not be used on varieties made in the United States, reported the Associated Press.

If its requests are granted, only Parmesan from Parma, Italy, would be called Parmesan. The effort is being fueled by the belief that American varieties of European cheeses are saturating the market and affecting sales.

So those familiar green Kraft cylinders of grated Parmesan cheese would have to be called something else. The same would apply to Gruyere, feta, Asiago, Gorgonzola and other varieties if manufactured in the states.

No ruling on the cheese names has been made yet.

What would we call Parmesan if not Parmesan? Pasta dust? Italian white cheese that’s not mozzarella? We’ll stick with the original for now, please.

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