Brussels, 11/12/2012 (Agence Europe) - On Friday 7 December, Stéphane Le Foll, French Agriculture Minister, welcomed the fact that the European Commission had granted protected geographical indication (PGI) status to French “Gruyère” cheese. Recognition as a product with PGI status allows “cultural and gastronomic heritage to be preserved”, explains the French agriculture minister (our translation), adding: “It also recognises the excellence of the know-how of the men and women who make the cheese”.
Hitherto, only Swiss-made “Gruyère” was given PGI protection (registered designation of origin - AOC). The distinction between the two, in addition to the place of production, will be made depending on whether or not, the cheese has holes in it - the French “Gruyère” being the only one to present this characteristic.
The Commission's proposal to register the name “Gruyère” as a PGI received endorsement from the permanent committee for protected names of origin and protected geographical indications, on 4 December.
One might ask whether the presence on the EU market of two products bearing the same name - Swiss “Gruyère” (AOC) and French “Gruyère” (PGI) - would be a source of confusion for consumers. Swiss-made “Gruyère” is protected on EU territory by the agreement between the EU and Switzerland on geographical indications.
Additional labelling measures have been provided after consultation with Switzerland and France in order to avoid any such confusion. After consultation, it appears necessary that the country of origin - in this case France - should be mentioned on the labels within the same field of vision as the name “Gruyère”, and in characters of the same size as those used for the name. Also, the use on the labels of any flag, emblem, sign or other graphic representations should be banned if these are likely to mislead consumers, including on the characteristics or on the origin.
Would it still be possible, on EU territory, to market “Gruyère” that does not respect the AOC “Gruyère” (Switzerland) specifications or those of PGI “Gruyère” (France)? The agreement between the EU and Switzerland on geographical indications provides a transitional five-year period as of the date when the agreement takes effect for use of the name “Gruyère” on EU territory. Thus, as the name “Gruyère” for France is registered, the granting of the denomination and the duration of the transitional period is not brought into question.
France's request to register the name “Gruyère” as a PGI product had been published on 4 November 2010 in the EU Official Journal. Further to that publication, opposition was received from New Zealand, Australia and the US Dairy Export Council (USDEC) and National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF). Such opposition was deemed admissible and the parties concerned were invited to proceed to appropriate consultation during a six month period. Given that no agreement was reached within that time, it is right that the Commission should adopt a decision in line with the procedure set out in Article 15, paragraph 2, of the EC Regulation No 510/2006 (protection of geographical indications and names of origin for agricultural products and foodstuffs). (LC/transl.jl)