A cheese by any other name

The European Court of Justice ruled that only the crumbly cheese that has been made for about 800 years near the Italian city of Parma can legally be called Parmesan.

In a case dating back to 2003, the court criticized Germany for allowing sales of imitation Parmesan in violation of European Union food origin rules that reserve the name Parmesan for Italian cheese.

The case was brought by the European Commission. There was no punishment for Germany, but German producers will now have to change the name of their cheese.

Over the years, the EU has become more active in legally protecting dozens of brand names of foods and drink peculiar to European regions -- from Champagne to feta cheese.

In 2005, in a setback for Danish producers, the EU high court said feta can come only from Greece, and imitations cannot use that name.