Cheese-sounding, italian sounding and illicit evocation of a historic PDO. It couldn’t have gone worse for the British producer of vegan foods, who with the brand ‘I am Nut ok’ dared to sell a ‘ParmeSans grated Italian style’.
The ParmeSans was caught in the act by the Parmigiano Reggiano PDO Consortium which precisely in London, at World Cheese Award, usually takes place a haul of awards for the true and best raw milk cheeses. But vegan imitations of Parmesan and other cheeses continue to thrive in the United Kingdom and also emerge in Italy.
Vegan imitations
The names of the products vegan often evoke those of animal origin foods which they occasionally aspire to imitate, at least in appearance and sometimes (more improbably) in flavor. Without detracting from the free choices to produce foods of plant or lab origin, such as lab-meat, it is however necessary to present the products with a food name consistent with the rules. In all cases a descriptive name, as there are no applicable legal or usual names. (1)
The meat sounding is extraordinarily widespread, pending the announced reform of the EU Common Market Organisation (CMO) regulation which should reserve the use of the related names exclusively for preparations and products based on meat. Following Mexico's example, where a reform in this direction is underway.
The fish sounding and theegg sounding are more marginal phenomena, which have not yet reached the necessary spread to awaken the idle control authorities in the EU member states. They will in any case have the authority to sanction violations of the applicable European regulations. Since the names of eggs like honey, fish products and dairy products are already reserved, in specific EU legislation, to those sole products. No room for imitations, which must be designated with descriptive names and not evocative of the original goods.
cheese sounding e milk sounding
The cheese sounding – that is, the use of the proper names of milk and derivatives on products of different origin – was the subject of a recent ruling by the EU Court of Justice. On 14.6.17, affirmed the strict prohibition of referring to ‘milk’ and ‘cheese’ on products that do not contain them. (2)
The milk sounding it is also to be understood as manifestly prohibited, for the reasons recalled by the ECJ (European Court of Justice). The Institute for Advertising Self-Regulation (IAP) responded to our complaint on a case of milk sounding even more delicate, the reference to ‘milk’ in Galatine candies produced instead with powdered milk. (3)
The case parmesans
parmesans is a chopped ‘vegan’ mixture (cashews, yeast, garlic, ‘Himalayan salt’ and ‘truffle oil’), presented with a wordplay that combines the evocation of Parmesan the word ‘sans’ (‘without’, in French). And the subtitle ‘grated in Italian style’, which would make even the late Totò pale.
The cheekiness is all in all typical of a country where the wine-kit have made a fortune evoking Barolo in powders to be added to water. But in those cases as in this one, the murky fantasy steeped in cunning breaks the most basic rules.
The evocation of the name Parmesan – which adds to the cheese sounding – was the subject of a specific ruling by the EU Court of Justice. Which denied the generic nature of the term, cleverly theorized by the Germans, affirming the exclusive right to use it by companies that join the Parmigiano Reggiano DOP Consortium. (4)
vegan Parmesan, what other cases?
The triple fake of parmesans – fake cheese, fake Parmesan, fake Italian – was promptly intercepted by the Parmigiano Reggiano Protection Consortium, which ordered and obtained its immediate withdrawal from the market. Excellent work, also indispensable in a country like England where nearly 7,000 tons of authentic Parmigiano are exported each year.
The responsibility of the distributor however wavers, in this as in other cases of English supermarkets that sell vegan Parmesan. (5) Therefore, official public controls also waver, and it is to the authorities that one must address a request for protection of rights violated in relation to the numerous infringements under everyone's eyes. With or without Brexit.
Also in Italy the radars must be kept on. Just last week – in Bologna, at the Marca fair – we saw with our own eyes the products vegan of Vegeatal, literally presented as ‘vegetable alternative to Parmesan’ (‘Grattaveg’), ‘vegetable alternative to mozzarella’ (‘Mozzaveg’), ‘vegetable alternative to stracchino’ (‘Straccoveg’).
‘All good? An understatement’ (6)
Dario Dongo and Marta Strinati
Notes
(1) For further information on the food naming in Reg. EU 1169/11, see https://www.foodagriculturerequirements.com/archivio-notizie/domande-e-risposte/denominazione-dell-alimento_1
(2) See also the previous article https://www.foodagriculturerequirements.com/archivio-notizie/cheese-sounding-la-corte-di-giustizia-ue-conferma-il-divieto
(3) The Antitrust authority, probably unaware of the wise decision of the IAP, instead gave the green light to Galatine and other cases of milk sounding denounced by GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade).
(4) ECJ, Case C-132/05, European Communities Commission v Federal Republic of Germany, judgment 26.2.08, at https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/IT/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:62005CJ0132&from=EN
(5) See for example the vegan Parmesan branded Good Carma Food launched by retailer Morrison’s in July 2018, the Your Heart Vegan Parmesan Shread from Harris Teeter. And which others?
(6) Quote C.C.C.P. – Loyal to the line
Dario Dongo, lawyer and journalist, PhD in international food law, founder of WIISE (FARE - GIFT – Food Times) and Égalité.
Professional journalist since January 1995, has worked for newspapers (Il Messaggero, Paese Sera, La Stampa) and magazines (NumeroUno, Il Salvagente). Author of journalistic investigations on food, published the book 'Reading labels to know what we eat'.
