Cheese name changes raise ire of Tasmania's peak farming body

Geographical indications remain a sticking point in the negotiation of an Australian and EU free trade agreement.

The EU has put forward a list of almost 1300 product names it wants protected under the new trade deal.

The list of GIs includes 166 food products, including several well-known cheeses, such as Feta, Beaufort, Gorgonzola, Gruyere and Roquefort, and more than 230 spirits, including Cognac, Grappa and Sherry, along with nearly 900 wines, including Burgundy, Port and Champagne.

The Tasmanian Farmers and Graziers Association says the European Union is seeking to assert its market power over Australian cheese producers, in demanding they stop using terms such as Brie, Parmesan and Cheddar.

TGFA chief executive Hugh Christie said while the organisation supported the Australia-EU Free Trade Agreement in principle, it should not be at the expense of cheesemakers.

The renaming of these products would make it harder for consumers to understand what they are buying, and cost producers millions in rebranding and marketing efforts, he said.

"If the EU wants us to adopt alternative cheese names, they should be prepared to cover the costs of renaming, repackaging, and redesigning," he said.

"This decision could have devastating consequences for Tasmanian dairy farmers and cheese producers, putting jobs at risk, and it's only fair that the government advocate for everyday Australians."

According to Australian Dairy Farmers, the implementation of a GI scheme could result in a decrease of gross regional production by more than $220 million and job losses ranging from 650 to 1000

"The Australian government must ensure that the EU does not impose an overly restrictive and anti-competitive GI regime on Australia," he said.

Read more:

MIlawa Cheese Company chief executive Ceridwen Brown agreed with the TFGA, describing the actions as "global bullying.

"The Australian government needs to stand up for local producers," Ms Brown said.

"It is almost impossible to jump through the hoops required to actually be able to sell our cheese into the EU, so they have effectively got a trade ban on small Australian cheese makers anyway.

"On a global scale our cheese sales are hardly a competition to their products. Australia needs to stand up for itself against such global bullying."

She said she was sure Brie (Brie de Meaux) Cheddar (West Country Cheddar Presidium) and Parmesan (Parmigiano Reggiano) all already had protected status.

"The generic names have become so synonymous with a style of cheese making that designates a type, not an actual individual cheese," Ms Brown said.

"Small Australian cheese makers do not have the huge marketing bodies like wine makers that could re-educate consumers as has been the case with sparkling wine/champagne.

"Effectively the EU would be stealing Australian customers from Australian producers if they can not identify what the new 'rebranded' cheese was".

And Southern Sky Cheese Company, Perth, Tasmania, founder Rod Wyker said while there had been consultation with producers, that was prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Apart from the cost of changing product names, it's a significant barrier to sales," Mr Wyker said.

"It's a bit like what New Zealand tried to do with Manuka Honey."

He said he didn't know exactly what was going to happen and what the federal government had agreed to, as a trade-off to sign off on the deal.

Southern Sky sold Brie, Gruyere, Pecorino, Haloumi and Parmesan style cheeses.

"Cheddar is a place and a technical term, as well," he said.

The barrier would largely be created on supermarket shelves, Mr Wyker said.

"The EU will flood the market with named products, our products will still be in the supermarket, but won't be named," he said.

'You will have 'fresh, white curd' cheese, sitting next to Greek Fetta.

"I think they [the government] should be going into bat for us - I'm concerned they are not.

But Glen Bisognin, Bassine Specialty Cheeses, Bass, Victoria, said his business was preparing for potential changes.

He said the matter was raised by French farmers, who had visited the business.

Mr Bisognin said they were asked what other names could be used in place of the French designations.

"They just shrugged their shoulders, and said 'yes, of course, what else do you want to call Brie?

"They [the Europeans] have to have some claim to fame, so I understand their reasoning".

He said Bassine didn't want to "rock the boat", so had started renaming its cheeses.

'We call our Brie Bassine Queen, because Brie is the queen of cheese, we call Haloumi our Cowesloumi (Halmoumi named after Cowes, Phillip Island) and a lot of our cheeses after local areas," he said.

That included cheeses such as Loch (Brillat-Savarin), Temby Point (Talleggio) and Cape (Camembert).

"When we have to talk about it, we talk about a cheddar or a Brie style," he said.

He said cheeses and milk were sold within 100 kilometres of the Glen Forbes factory.

"We are small players and we have chosen to accept it as 'a fait accompli', so are renaming our cheeses accordingly," he said.

"Our regular customers have accepted and understand that and are quite happy with it.

Partner cheese artisan Kaye Courtney, said Bassine ran a competition among its customers, to find new names.

"We made it a bit of fun, and it was a bit of marketing too," Ms Courtney said.

"If you wait until the last minute, how creative can you be if you have to do something quickly?"

She said businesses needed to adapt and be flexible, planning ahead, for such eventualities.

Mr Bisognin said a bigger problem was labelling of non-dairy products, such as soy and almond, as milk.

"People come into our cafe and say 'I'll have a soy latte" - we say, you're on a dairy farm mate, if you want chemicals, go to a factory," he said.

The federal government and Australian Dairy Products Federation have been contacted for comment.

Subscribers have access to download our free app today from the App Store or Google Play.