Take Feta. Add Frites. Stir in European Food Rules. Fight.
During those talks, Paul D. Ryan, the Republican House speaker and a Wisconsinite, insisted
that producers in his state should be allowed to make feta and other cheeses “for generations to come.”
Manolis Kefalogiannis, a Greek lawmaker at the European Parliament, later said
that the United States stance created the “risk of mass imports of counterfeit feta into the E. U.”
Gus, the mascot for the annual British Asparagus Festival, paints his face green and wears a giant asparagus crown headdress.
Fights over culinary traditions are common in Europe, where countries are fiercely protective of their gastronomical heritage,
and the rule books are full of regional food and drink that are “protected.”
The European Union also has a role in deciding which products may use more generic names like milk and cream.
China agreed this month to respect rules protecting the names of 100 European Union foods and drinks, including feta cheese from Greece.
Now, some British producers are trying to preserve the boost that Europe’s protected food names system gives their business.
It sued TofuTown, a major German producer of dairy alternatives, for violating European rules by marketing “Soyatoo tofu butter” and “veggie cheese.”
This month, the European Court of Justice agreed with the German association.
