• BeUnique@lemmy.zip
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    1 day ago

    Ahhh so this explains the Parmesan cartel. If you don’t know, the only “true” Parmesan comes from Italy and there’s a cartel of pretty ruthless (legally, not like drug cartels or anything lol) people that try their best to keep it that way.

    There was a bunch of drama once about a guy in the US that was a cheese making hobiest that tried to make his own parmesan using some methods he thought of. The Parmesan cartel in Italy sent him a cease and decist letter.

    • Gold_E_Lox@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      1 day ago

      this is true across a wide variety of products deemed “cultural exports” by the eu and is a portion of their soft power throughout the globe

    • StillAlive@piefed.world
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      1 day ago

      The names Parmigiano Reggiano and Parmesan are protected designations of origin (PDO) for cheeses produced in these provinces under Italian and European law.[1] Outside the EU, the name Parmesan is legally used for imitations, with only the full Italian name unambiguously referring to PDO Parmigiano Reggiano.[2] A 2021 press release by the Italian farmer-rancher association Coldiretti reported that, in the United States, 90% of “Italian sounding” cheese sold as parmesan, mozzarella, grana, and gorgonzola was produced domestically.

    • FuglyDuck@lemmy.world
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      1 day ago

      (legally, not like drug cartels or anything lol)

      I don’t believe you……

      They may have gone legit, though. (Although… there is that island that makes the cheese with the jumping maggots… that’s technically illegal.)