Swiss Gruyère — the one without the holes (Photo: Rolf Krahl)
Holes in approval for French Gruyère cheese
Published: 07 Dec 2012 16:30 GMT+01:00 | Print version
Updated: 07 Dec 2012 16:30 GMT+01:00
French producers of "Gruyère" cheese have won recognition for their produce under an all-important regional trading name system but it will have to have holes, unlike Swiss Gruyère, the European Commission said Friday.
"The European Commission proposal to register the denomination 'Gruyère' as a protected geographical indicator has been approved" by a committee of EU
experts, EU farming commission spokesman Roger Waite said.
The requirement is that French Gruyère cheese must contain holes "between the size of a pea and a cherry," and the French origin must be visible on
packaging, Waite said.
To-date, only Swiss Gruyère benefited from this degree of protection under a bilateral accord between the EU and non-member Switzerland.
Australian and New Zealand producers, as well as the American milk industry, had lodged objections to the recognition of French Gruyere as a distinct product.
Although the stereotype of Swiss cheese is of varieties with holes, this applies only to certain kinds, such as Emmental, but not to Gruyère.
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