A group of dairy producing nations including New Zealand is fighting the latest EU decision around food names.

The European Union wants to ring-fence the name ‘havarti’ so it applies to cheese specifically from Denmark.

It joins a list of food and drink names that the EU has sought to keep localised for their member states. The most famous example is how sparkling wine is only allowed to be called champagne if it is made in France’s Champagne region.

Shawna Morris is with the Consortium for Common Food Names in Washington DC fighting the latest move. She told Tim Dower that it matters a tremendous amount of dairy industries around the world.a

"We're taking a stand and saying that the EU's efforts to block out competition by banning everyone else from calling these products what consumers know them to be is ludicrous."

She says that havarti cheese is so generic that it was world standards that countries around the world have agreed to. 

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