Australians are being urged to stand behind cheesemakers whose livelihoods are under attack from the European Union as part of the Free Trade Agreement negotiations.
The EU wants to impose Geographic Indications (GI) on cheese.
Under a GI system, Australian cheesemakers could not use cheese names such feta, parmesan, haloumi, pecorino, neufchatel and gruyere.
But imported European cheeses could still use the names.
Cheesemaker Mauro Montalto, from Floridia Cheese, said the introduction of GIs on European cheese would result in more overseas products at Australian supermarkets, taking up prime space Australian producers currently held.
"Our family has been making cheese in Australia for more than 65 years, and the EU's attempts to restrict common food names is in one word - unjustified," he said.
"This new system privileges one set of producers, namely those in the European Union, over local Australian producers."
READ MORE: Battle looms for Aussie dairy over Haloumi
If the EU is successful, this could have an enormous negative impact on many Australian dairy manufacturers who produce high quality locally made dairy products.
Australian Dairy Farmers president and Australian Dairy Industry Council chair Rick Gladigau said Australia had a rich tradition of cheese making.
It was a core part of the country's food culture built upon it proud multicultural heritage.
"The impact of a strict agreement on GIs cannot be underestimated," said Mr Gladigau.
The EU wants to go a step further and restrict the right of cheesemakers to highlight their cultural heritage by banning the use of certain colours, fonts and other branding which it believes could 'evoke' European heritage - potentially extending to Greek-style yoghurt as well.
"Forcing cheesemakers to change the name of their product and denying them the right to use their branding due to evoking European heritage is unacceptable," Mr Gladigau said.
"The effects of this will be greatly felt when it comes to farmgate prices, demand for raw milk, and the unfair displacement of local Australian producers and quality made products, putting up to 1000 jobs at risk."
The EU's trade restrictive GIs regime would impact many local cheese brands and artisans and cost them an estimated $77 million-$95 million per annum in the early years of implementation.
"Many of the GI at risk cheeses have been made in Australia for generations. We must protect not only our beloved cheeses but support the cheesemakers who have been making quality products for generations - small and large," Mr Gladigau said.
"Australia is a multicultural country, and our food culture is a pivotal part of our identity that reflects our proud migrant history.
"Many European immigrants have built successful cheese businesses that supply Aussies with great tasting, nutritious, cheese."
Mr Montalto said if the EU were successful, many family-run specialty cheese manufacturers, such as his own, would be forced to rebrand their products.
"We've seen the EU GI system challenged within the EU itself, and we know it has been inconsistently applied with trading partners such as Canada, NZ, and Japan, in the past," he said.
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