The European Court in Luxembourg has once again refused German dairies the right to use the name Parmesan for hard cheeses produced in Germany.

Its argument is that the name is a Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) one because it is derived from PDO Parmigiano Reggiano, the cheese made in the Parma-Bologna region of Italy. Parmesan is also meant to contain Parmigiano Reggiano cheese.
German dairies have long argued that Parmesan deserves no special protection claiming that some of the Italian Parmesans exported into Germany contain no Parmigiano cheese. That may well be, admitted the European Court, but the name Parmesan remains a protected one. The court added that it was up to the German customs, and not the EU administration, to take action to stop imports of any proven fake PDO cheese.