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Dairy leaders want GI protections too

An international nonprofit group is asking the Trump administration to protect the use of common food names in trade negotiations with Europe.

Chairman of the Consortium for Common Food Names (CCFN) Errico Auricchio, who is also the President and Founder of Belgioioso Cheese based in Green Bay, Wisconsin, says the U.S. should correct the inequality in cheese sales opportunities with the European Union.

At the very least, the consortium would like the U.S. to block the EU from selling cheeses with geographical indications in the U.S.  

EU policies currently ban marketing products like asiago, feta and parmesan which Auricchio, says contributes to a $1.6 billion U.S.-EU dairy trade deficit.

The EU is likely to approve Havarti as another protected name at the end of this month.