How an FTA has put feta in its place
Homonyms are not allowed, so “wheta” is not a starter.
Say goodbye to New Zealand-made “feta”. The popular white salad cheese we put in salads and Greek dishes like spanakopita pie takes up a good quarter of the cheese shelves at my supermarket.
Don’t panic, it will take a while to disappear, and the cheese will still be on the shelves, just with a different name. In return, kiwifruit growers are going to get an early Christmas of $46 million savings in tariffs this season. And it is all because of the European Union – New Zealand Free Trade Agreement that came into force last week.
As the name suggests, free trade agreements (FTAs) reduce market barriers between countries, allowing the free flow of specified goods and services between them. In fact, the EU itself can be seen as a glorified free-trade agreement between its 27 member states that allows goods to be made in one EU country and sold without any tariff in another. (Something the UK has rediscovered to its immense cost having left the EU with its Brexit.)
Hence the win for our kiwifruit growers who will no longer have to pay tariffs and can compete against Italian kiwifruit growers on a level playing field within European Union countries.
However, the weird thing about FTAs is that although their focus is outwards intended to increase exports, they force change on domestic behaviour. Those who are forced to change are not always happy about that, but FTAs do provide opportunities for them to develop. New Zealand is in that position now and feta cheese shows why they should.
To get reduced tariffs on our exports to the EU, New Zealand has accepted the Europeans’ mechanism of protected designation of origin (PDOs). PDOs are protected product names that recognise particular foods and wines that have been produced, processed and developed in a specific geographical area, using the recognised know-how of local producers and ingredients from the region concerned. The same or similar products can be made in other places, but those producers cannot use the PDO name.
The marketing benefits of PDOs are obvious, giving designated products exclusivity and brand-awareness. Think “Champagne”. Their use has accordingly expanded and the EU now recognises PDOs for over 2100 food and beverages. Most are wines, but they also include some 53 cheeses, including feta.
Large European cheesemakers had been calling their crumbly white cheese “feta” for some years, just as New Zealand cheesemakers do now. However, the Greeks wanted to use the EU’s PDO provision to boost its feta sales. They had argued their feta cheeses were distinctive and sought to have the feta name used only for Greek cheeses.
Danish, German and French cheesemakers wanted to continue using “feta”, arguing in the EU’s Court of Justice that it was a widely accepted name for a generic cheese type. Anyone could use the name, they argued.
The Greeks responded by pointing out that feta is made from sheep milk aged in brine. It is crumbly. The Danish and German cheeses are made from cow milk, are creamier and cut into firm slices.
In any case, the Greeks claimed their feta had a distinctive taste, the result of their sheep grazing on Greek herbs. As a clincher, much of the North European feta-style cheese packaging depicted Greeks in national costume.
The court agreed with the Greeks. As a result, feta-style cheeses made in EU countries had to be renamed, most now called “white” or “salad” cheese. Greek feta cheese sales subsequently sky-rocketed, especially in North America.
The new EU-NZ FTA now means that New Zealand cheesemakers too will have to stop using feta. They have seven years to find a new name. Homonyms are not allowed, so “wheta” is not a starter.
Other cheeses will also be affected by the PDO requirement. The New Zealand cheese industry is now setting up a group to come up with new names for those that may be impacted by the FTA. If our cheesemakers are smart, they will embrace the logic of their European counterparts to create distinctive cheeses that go with the new names and command a premium.
But PDOs work both ways. Our winemakers get several terroirs recognised that may help protect them from European firms bottling generic Kiwi wine and calling it after premier locations such as Gimblett Gravels.
And New Zealand has also scored a major win with mānuka honey. At present, we are scrapping with the Australians over the use of “mānuka”, a word that gives the honey added value.
Our mānuka honey might or might not be chemically different from the Australian version. But when it comes to exporting mānuka honey into Europe, New Zealand has already won the battle. Thanks to the NZ-EU FTA the Australians cannot use mānuka on their honey labels, leaving the market completely open to New Zealand exporters who also have had their 17.3% tariff removed. Hard cheese, Aussies.
In the meantime, we need to find a new name for white salad cheeses made from cows’ milk.
Dr Jeff McNeill is an honorary research associate and former senior lecturer in the School of People, Environment and Planning at Massey University. His recent research explores environmental implications of EU free trade agreements for New Zealand.