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Powder permitted to help with holes in Emmental cheese

Court allows aids for the holes in Emmental cheese
Court allows aids for the holes in Emmental cheese Keystone-SDA

The Swiss Federal Administrative Court has authorised the use of hay flower powder in the production of Emmental cheese with a protected designation of origin.

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The powder helps the formation of holes in the cheese. New milking methods have reduced this in recent years.

In a ruling published on Friday, the Federal Administrative Court upheld an appeal by the cheese organisation Emmentaler Switzerland. The Federal Office for Agriculture had rejected an application to amend the specifications for Emmental with a protected designation of origin (PDO).

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It feared that the hay flower powder would lead to industrialisation in cheese production and weaken the uniqueness of the product. The problem of the reduction in holes could be solved by filtering the milk to a lesser extent, it said.

The court did not accept these arguments. It took into account that hay particles had traditionally formed an ingredient of Emmental and led to the typicality of the cheese. In addition, other additives are authorised.

Translated from German by DeepL/ts

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