The agency responsible for food safety, the FDA, defines many criteria for Gruyère cheese, such as the existence of “little holes” or the fact that it is aged for at least 90 days. But does not include criteria of geographical origin. Arnd Wiegmann / REUTERS
A court of appeal considered Friday that the name “gruyère” is a generic term, without retaining the criterion of geographical origin.
An American Court of Appeal confirmed it on Friday March 3: the term Gruyère does indeed refer in the United States to a common name and cannot be reserved for cheeses of this type originating in France or Switzerland. The Gruyère interprofession, which represents the players in the sector in Switzerland, and the Syndicat interprofessionnel du Gruyère, its French counterpart, had tried to register the term in the American register of certified brands. But faced with the refusal of the organization, they had filed a complaint and lost at first instance in early 2022. Judges of an appeal court confirmed this decision.
There is not in the United States the same protections as in Europe on the name of food products, such as the Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) for Gruyère in France, they argue in their verdict. The agency responsible for food safety, the FDA, defines many criteria for Gruyère cheese, such as the existence of “little holes” or the fact that it is aged for at least 90 days. But does not include criteria on geographical origin. Also “Cheese, no matter where it was produced, has been labeled and sold as Gruyere in the United States for decades”. And this whether it was produced in the US state of Wisconsin or imported from the Netherlands, Germany or Austria, they add.
“Gruyère, generic term”
In conclusion, they write, plaintiffs cannot go against “What is clear from the record: cheese consumers in the United States understand that the term “gruyere” refers to a type of cheese, which makes the term generic”. This decision has been welcomed by several players in the dairy sector in the United States, including the Federation of American Dairy Producers, who hope that it will encourage French and Swiss professional federations to “stop trying to expropriate a common food name” by registering a trademark.
The Swiss and French federations, on the other hand, are “disappointed”according to their lawyer. “We believe that the actual situation in the US market is different from what the Court of Appeal described, and we will vigorously pursue our efforts to protect the Gruyère AOP quality product certification mark in the United States”said Richard Lehv in a message sent to AFP.