AN ARTISAN cheese maker in North Yorkshire have come under fire over the name of their Yorkshire Fettle cheese.

Shepherds Purse renamed its cheese 12 years ago after Greece was awarded a Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) for Feta by the European Commission.

Following unsuccessful appeals by Germany and Denmark, Shepherds Purse rebranded with Mediterranean salad-style cheese ‘Yorkshire Fettle’ in 2008.

Named after a well-known Northern English word, the cheese went onto win International Cheese Awards and has been stocked in Morrisons, Tesco, Sainsburys and Waitrose and served in a number of restaurants.

Fettle has now attracted the attention of the Association of Greek Producers, SEVGAP, who believe that the use of Fettle breaches the protection afforded to Feta and have therefore demanded that Shepherds Purse cease using the name.

Due to a lack of resources, Shepherds Purse cannot afford to take on the Greek dairy industry and will, once again, rename their famous product.

The dairy farm will share its new name before the end of 2021.

Shepherds Purse Artisan Cheeses began in the late 1980s after Judy Bell MBE set out on a mission to create quality dairy alternatives for cow’s milk allergy sufferers.

Yorkshire Fettle, Yorkshire Feta at the time, was Judy’s very first cheese, produced in 1987 and launched as a product in 1989. It went on to win international awards and featured on the likes of Paul Hollywood's BBC One cooking programme Pies & Puds.

Shepherds Purse is now led by Judy’s two daughters, Katie Matten and Caroline Bell who continue the tradition of cheesemaking.

The pair have created new award-winning cheeses and a team of 35 on the family farm.

Speaking on the new PDO enforcement, Caroline Bell said: “It’s devastating to see our well-loved product go through this process once more after we believed it was resolved back in 2008.

"Whilst we agree whole heartedly with the spirit of PDO legislation, we don’t believe that our name breaches it. But we sit as a fringe case and sadly, as a small independent family business, our resources to fight it are limited, particularly after this exceptionally difficult period due to the pandemic.”

Sister Katie Matten added: “After investing heavily in new equipment and new packaging during the pandemic to help support our sheep milk farmers, this has been a blow, especially given all the challenges of the pandemic.

"But we are keen to not let it set us back. It’s an exceptional product made from quality British sheep milk and we have over 30 years’ experience in making it. We will move forward positively despite this recent challenge.”