Cheese wars: Gruyère made in USA gets the green light
14/1/2022
Translation: Jessica Johnson-Ferguson
Gruyère does not necessarily need to be produced in Switzerland, ruled a North American court, angering local cheese producers. While the cheese looks back on a history of being made according to the same recipe for over a thousand years, the US looks back on a somewhat shorter history of fighting legal battles.
Le Gruyère AOP. Whether it’s served up on a cheese platter with bread or combined with Vacherin to make a moitié-moitié fondue, this cheese is always the right choice. It’s something the rest of the world has also copped onto. So, it’s no surprise that Gruyère replaced Emmental as the number one export hit in 2009. This kind of success attracts free riders.
Gruyère from Texas or California?
US producers have realised that the cheese is well received on the local market. And so, they’re happily churning out Gruyère made in America – much to the annoyance of Gruyère producers. After all, the cheese is classified «AOP» in Europe, which means it has a protected designation of origin. Concretely, this means that production of this cheese is limited to producers from the cantons of Fribourg, Vaud, Neuchâtel, Jura, as well as the Bernese districts of Courtelary, Moutier and La Neuveville and some municipalities bordering the canton of Fribourg. Aside from that, there are historical exceptions in place for 17 Swiss-German producers.
But the Americans couldn’t care less. And for a while, neither could the Swiss dairy giant Emmi. To fill its pockets, the company produced «Gruyère» in the US for a while. But after harsh criticism from within its home country of Switzerland, Emmi was forced to pull in its horns. However, the practice wasn’t illicit at the time and isn’t to this day; the designation of origin has no validity in the USA. This has just been confirmed by a court in the state of Virginia after years of litigation between the Gruyère Variety Group (IPG) and the American Dairy Products Export Association. The winning argument was that US consumers perceived Gruyère less as place-based cheese but more as a type.
IPG has announced that it will appeal this ruling, arguing that the American product has nothing to do with the original. In Switzerland, only raw milk from cows fed on natural fodder is used to make the cheese. «In the US, cheap milk is used. That’s deceiving consumers!» the president of IPG was quoted in the Swiss tabloid Blick.
Industrialisation of traditional products
A lack of respect in dealing with the long tradition of certain products doesn’t enrage Swiss producers only. Legal disputes have a habit of reappearing, be it in the EU or with the USA. The breweries behind Budweiser in the Czech Republic and Budweiser in the US have been arguing over the name for over a hundred years. And in Normandy, an argument little short of a war is going on over the question of whether real Camembert can also be made with pasteurised milk. As was the case with Emmi’s production of Gruyère, the aim was to make a lot of money in the USA. The backstory is that, in the 1950s, the US Food and Drug Administration banned imports of cheese made from raw milk. This gave birth to the «Président» brand and ushered in the industrialisation of soft cheese (Reportage #60, Marc Zitzmann and Christoph Dorner).
The US and other countries including Australia and New Zealand are tough nuts to crack when it comes to designations of origin. These countries don’t do protective labels and are also actively fighting regulations within the World Trade Organisation (WTO). In response to a motion on the protection of AOC products in the US, a statement by the federal government (in German) made in August 2012 reads: «With regard to a free-trade agreement that would also include the protection of intellectual property and, in particular, GI (editor’s note: abbreviation for geographical indications), Switzerland held exploratory discussions with the United States in 2005. However, these discussions were not fruitful and the exploration has brought to light that the US is wholly inflexible in protecting GI. For years now, the US has also exhibited this hostile attitude toward GI at an international and bilateral level as well as at the WTO.»
From 1914 to 1999, the Swiss Cheese Union also took care of the national and international marketing of Gruyère, Sbrinz and Emmental cheese. The union introduced a set price for milk and cheese on the domestic market. This was linked to the condition that the Cheese Union must supply the general public with enough cheese, making the union a de facto cartel. From 1992 to 1999, the union also sponsored Switzerland’s national ski team – you might remember the Emmental ski suit.
Since the introduction of a new agricultural law in Switzerland, Gruyère producers have been fighting alone for the integrity of their good reputation. Maybe the US will buckle at some point. But they might also keep on producing fake Gruyère. Be as it may, the latter won’t ever make it into a Swiss fondue pot.
My life in a nutshell? On a quest to broaden my horizon. I love discovering and learning new skills and I see a chance to experience something new in everything – be it travelling, reading, cooking, movies or DIY.
