Under an agreement reached last week, the Gruyere cheese Roth Kase produces in Monroe will no longer be called ‘Gruyere.’

Like Parmigiano-Reggiano… Gruyere is also trying to reclaim sole use of its name and protect its origin.

Does a Gruyere by any other name taste as good melted on onion soup?

After May 1, 2013, a local cheese producer will find out.

In response to pressure from its Swiss parent company and the Swiss Gruyere industry, Emmi Roth USA decided last Thursday to drop the word “Gruyere” by this date from its Grand Cru Gruyere.

Grand Cru is made with milk sourced in about a 50-mile radius around Roth Kase USA’s factory in Monroe.

“We are going to remove the name ‘Gruyere’ from cheeses not produced in the Gruyere region of Switzerland,” said Steve Millard, CEO of Emmi Roth USA.

Emmi Group CEO Urs Riedener said in a statement the company’s decision sends “a powerful message” in support of the Swiss Gruyere industry, which is currently stalled in a trademark application of the phrase “le Gruyere” with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Full story via A cheese by another name?.