Gruyère does not have the same status as Roquefort in the United States. Swiss and French cheese producers had come together to file a complaint in the state of Virginia after the rejection of their appellation contrôlée on American soil. But justice confirmed the first decision, reports the Huffington Post this Tuesday.
“It is clear that the term ‘Gruyère’ has, in the past, been preferred to refer exclusively to these cheeses made in France and Switzerland, admits Judge TS Ellis. However, decades of importation, production and sale of cheeses under the term ‘Gruyère’ without coming from dedicated regions in Switzerland or France have eroded the term, which has become generic ”, slices the magistrate quoted by our colleagues.
A process dating from the 12th century
Other products well known here in France such as Roquefort, cognac or champagne are entitled to protection and their origins are protected. This is not the case with Gruyere which can come from any region of the world. However, this cheese is “rigorously made from local and natural ingredients with methods that ensure the quality, characteristics and origin of the finished product”, justified the group of producers in its complaint. A process dating from the 12th century.
In Europe, the word Gruyère has been recognized as a shared property between France and Switzerland since the 1950s, recalls the Huffington Post.
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