UNITED STATES
The proposed Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) between Canada and 28 European Union nations has drawn protests from a multitude of U.S. cheesemakers because of its inclusion of labeling restrictions on cheese varieties sold in the United States.
While CETA would successfully remove 98% of bilateral trade tariffs between the different countries, it would also place deli staples like gouda, muenster, cheddar, feta and asiago on a list of 173 foods and beverage products which would carry new geographical indication restrictions. These designated products would only be able to be sold under their common names in the region or country for which they are named or commonly associated, according to the International Business Times.
Jaime Castaneda, Senior Vice President at the National Milk Producer Federation and the U.S. Dairy Export Council as well as Executive Director of the International Consortium for Common Food Names, argues that these protections should not be extended to products which have been freely produced and sold in numerous countries around the world for decades.
“We obviously reject [being] limited in selling any of those names that have been already in the public domain,” he said. “We are not against GIs, we believe GIs are a legit way of certifying a product and producers can use that all over the world; there’s no problem with that. But we have a significant problem when a country wants to tackle the right to a name that has been used in some cases for centuries.”
“Feta or Asiago -- those two cheeses for instance -- were produced in Canada for many, many, many years and imported from other countries,” he elaborated. If CETA passed “producers from Canada and the EU would be able to call it Feta in Canada but the United States and other countries would have to call it 'feta style.' The question is 'why?'”
Jennifer Lynn Bice, Owner of Redwood Hill Farm & Creamery in Sebastopol, California, agreed, saying that these regulations would likely confuse consumers and drive sales numbers down as a result.
“Consumers are going to have a hard time determining which cheeses are what,” she said.
According to the International Business Times, 50 U.S. senators have signed on to a letter urging the United States Department of Agriculture to fight these labeling restrictions in CETA.
Stay tuned to DeliMarket TV for updates on the CETA agreement and its effects on the cheese industry.
