Two different cheeses which share the same name are at the heart of an international dispute. One is a traditional sheep’s milk cheese, as typically Spanish as cured Serrano ham and Don Quixote. The other is a mild cow’s milk cheese, enriched with vegetable oil, sold cheaply in Mexican markets and stuffed into quesadillas. Both cheeses are called Manchego, but they have very little in common. That is how they have come to be at the centre of a dispute that is putting a major trade deal between Mexico and the European Union at risk.

Machego makers in Spain say their product has a denomination of origin and want Mexican cheeses to stop carrying the same name. Ismael Álvarez de Toledo, president of the Spanish Association of Manchego Cheeses insists that there is only one product worthy of the name – and it is made from the milk of sheep in the region of La Mancha. He explained, “Mexican manchego is an insipid cow’s milk cheese that sometimes doesn’t even look like cheese because it often comes in slices for making sandwiches.” He insisted they have no right to use the name.

The trade deal threatened by this disagreement was signed in 2000. Mexico has recently wanted to revise the deal’s conditions as they need to diversify their business away from the USA, and it was hoped that a new treaty could be reached by Christmas. This has not been possible, however, because of the Manchego cheese problem. Furthermore, the EU takes geographical indications of its member states very seriously. Ten years ago, Spain successfully blocked a Belgian cheese maker who was selling an imitation “Manchego.” It was decided that Manchego was a brand name that belonged only to cheeses from the region.

Mexico is fiercely protective of many of its own denominations of origin, such as Tequila, but their cheese industry does not seem particularly concerned about this issue. “Mexico is more like the US in that we focus more on brands,” said René Fonseca, general secretary of the National Milk Industry.” We’re not interested in protecting generic names.” Fonseca even argues that it was in fact Europeans who first introduced the name Manchego to Mexico and so it is not the Mexicans´ fault. Álvarez, however, insisted that the confusion has led to real economic losses for Spanish producers, especially in the American market.

The Guardian, 15th January 2018 (Adapted)

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