In demonstration of support to the Ukrainian people, Latvian company Cesvaines piens has decided to not include the word Russia in any of its products. This means Russian cheese may be renamed Tilsit cheese or Tilsiter cheese, company representatives say.
The name will be changes for all Cesvaine piens brand products and Siera nams products.
«We wanted to make this step a while ago, but change of name is a long and complicated process. We have worked with Tilsit and Tilsiter names on export markets for several years. This is the name Europe knows this cheese by, not Russian cheese. When the Russian-Ukrainian war started in February, all doubts were off – the time has come to change the name,» explains JSC Cesvaines piens CEO Agris Skvarnovičs.
Currently Russian cheese is one of the most popular cheeses in Latvia and the most popular Cesvaines piens dairy product.
The company produces more than 500 tonnes of this cheese every year.
The recipe will not change, only the name, the company assures.
Tilsit cheese recipe was created in the middle of the 19th century in Tilsiter of East Prussia. Looking back, the name Russian cheese goes back to the ‘60s. The Soviet Union produced Russian cheese based on Tilsiter cheese recipe.
The company explains that the transition to a new product name will be done gradually. A full change of name for both brands may be completed by mid-summer.
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JSC Cesvaines piens specializes in production of semi-hard cheeses and butter. The company produces Dutch, Tilsiter, Maasdam and Cheddar cheeses. The company packages its products under Cesvaines piens and Siera nams brand. The company’s turnover was EUR 16.58 million in 2020. It is one of the biggest employers in Madona County with 153 employees. The main export markets include Israel, Ukraine, Poland, Finland and other countries.