# What is the reason we can't buy morbiet cheese anywhere anymore? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** food-cooking\ **Created:** [March 2, 2023, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-reason-we-cant-buy-morbiet-cheese-anywhere-anymore/980570 "2023-03-02T00:18:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f1d935/32.png) [@CC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CC)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2023, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-reason-we-cant-buy-morbiet-cheese-anywhere-anymore/980570/1 "2023-03-02T00:18:56Z")
I heard that there was some question about its purity or cleanliness. I would think that issue had been solved. Anyone know the straight dope? Or is this a job for Cecil? ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2023, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-reason-we-cant-buy-morbiet-cheese-anywhere-anymore/980570/2 "2023-03-02T00:23:02Z")
Assuming you mean morbier cheese: [Ashy Issues With The FDA - Olsson's Fine Foods](https://www.olssonsfinefoods.com/blog/ashy-issues-with-the-fda/#:~:text=After%20the%20last%20FDA%20rejection,longer%20available%20in%20the%20US). > After the last FDA rejection in 2015 some ash-covered and infused cheese producers looked at alternatives for the vegetable ash to get their cheeses into the American market. That is why Morbier as such is no longer available in the US. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2023, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-reason-we-cant-buy-morbiet-cheese-anywhere-anymore/980570/3 "2023-03-02T00:27:12Z")
Oh, interesting. I remember picking up morbier occassionally through the 2000s onward, and I’ve looked for it over the last few years, but it never occurred to me that it was completely gone from the US market. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2023, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-reason-we-cant-buy-morbiet-cheese-anywhere-anymore/980570/4 "2023-03-02T00:33:28Z")
[It looks like it’s available online.](https://www.google.com/search?q=morbier+cheese&client=safari&rls=en&source=lnms&tbm=shop&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj-qLaG_7v9AhVnIzQIHaC3DyMQ_AUoAnoECAEQBA&biw=1560&bih=947&dpr=2) ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2023, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-reason-we-cant-buy-morbiet-cheese-anywhere-anymore/980570/5 "2023-03-02T00:33:40Z")
The name Morbier is protected the same way “Champaign” is. Last November, a French court ruled that only cheese produced within a designated region can have the appearance of Morbier. Cheese with the line of ash produced outside the region will not only have to call their cheese something else; they also need to make it _look_ different. So the elimination of knockoffs has doubtless limited the supply, and raised the price of the authentic stuff. > **[Morbier: The cheese’s ash line to be PDO-protected](https://www.dairyreporter.com/Article/2022/11/24/Morbier-The-cheese-s-ash-line-to-be-PDO-protected-alongside-name)** > > The ruling means that the cheese’s iconic appearance cannot be reproduced by cheesemakers based outside the protected designation of origin (PDO) area – even if their product isn't called ‘Morbier’. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2023, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-reason-we-cant-buy-morbiet-cheese-anywhere-anymore/980570/6 "2023-03-02T00:44:51Z")
[Moderating] This looks like a job for Cafe Society. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2023, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-reason-we-cant-buy-morbiet-cheese-anywhere-anymore/980570/7 "2023-03-02T00:45:23Z")
French courts have made lots of rulings like that. None of them are binding outside of France. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2023, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-reason-we-cant-buy-morbiet-cheese-anywhere-anymore/980570/8 "2023-03-02T00:50:24Z")
It applies to the entire EU, and I’m guessing most of the knockoffs were French. Like US sparkling wine makers, it’s really not worth the hassle for US cheese makers to defy the ruling since it would make their product almost impossible to export. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2023, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-reason-we-cant-buy-morbiet-cheese-anywhere-anymore/980570/9 "2023-03-02T00:57:16Z")
Oh, huh. I used to like that cheese. I guess that’s why i haven’t had it in a few years. And i liked it, i didn’t love it such that I’d go to a lot of trouble to seek it out. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2023, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-reason-we-cant-buy-morbiet-cheese-anywhere-anymore/980570/10 "2023-03-02T19:50:13Z")
> [@ParallelLines](#): > > [Fine Foods](https://www.olssonsfinefoods.com/blog/ashy-issues-with-the-fda/#:~:text=After%20the%20last%20FDA%20rejection,longer%20available%20in%20the%20US). > > > After the last FDA rejection in 2015 That’s super odd, because there are definitely domestic cheeses with vegetable ash incorporated. [Humboldt Fog® - Soft, Ripe Goat Cheese | Cypress Grove Cheese](https://www.cypressgrovecheese.com/cheese/soft-ripened-cheeses/humboldt-fog/) ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2023, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-reason-we-cant-buy-morbiet-cheese-anywhere-anymore/980570/11 "2023-03-02T20:59:05Z")
I don’t think it’s the vegetable ash. I think it’s that the real thing is made with unpasteurized milk.