Great news in the cheese world!
Rome, 26 February 2008.
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) published today a very clear ruling: only cheeses bearing the protected denomination of origin (PDO) ‘Parmigiano-Reggiano’ can be sold under the denomination ‘Parmesan’.
“This judgment is a clear victory for the producers of ‘Parmigiano-Reggiano’ and the entire sector which includes 20 000 operators and represents a turnover of €1.5 billion. This ruling will put an end to the activities of counterfeiters whose use of the name ‘Parmesan’ during the last years has had a very negative impact on both the economy of the sector and the image of our unique cheese. This is also a victory for consumers to which we offer strong guarantees of traceability and who will not be facing anymore misleading denominations on the market”, stressed Giuseppe Alai, the President of the Consorzio of the Parmigiano-Reggiano.
