Editorial Policy

fromage.co.uk is an independent reference website about cheese from milk to plate. Our editorial policy is to explain what the evidence supports, show where it comes from and correct mistakes openly. Every page must be checked against its sources and approved by the named editor before publication.

How we research and describe cheese

We start with primary sources, opening and reading the documents that support each material claim. Writers record the document title, edition or revision, relevant passage and date accessed. Readers get numbered references and a last checked date; the editor keeps the fuller evidence record. A source must support the particular statement beside it, rather than merely discuss the same subject.

Our source choices follow the question: official registers and specifications for protected names; national food safety agencies for safety; binding legislation and official standards for legal definitions; peer reviewed research for science and health; and company filings or dated company statements for ownership. We distinguish international reference standards from binding national rules.

We keep four things separate: what the law requires, what a product specification permits, what a maker declares about a particular product, and what sources describe as typical. Legal minimum ageing and usual ageing have separate fields. Figures carry their units and basis, so fat in dry matter stays distinct from nutrition per 100 g.

Descriptions of flavour and texture come from identified sources or documented site tastings. Makers' tasting notes are attributed to them. A site tasting, visit, interview or kitchen trial needs a retained record; desk research is labelled accordingly. Recipes give reproducible quantities, temperatures, timings, handling and substitutions, with metric measures first and regional equivalents where useful.

When evidence conflicts, we explain the disagreement and its jurisdiction and withhold the disputed claim or mark it Not verified. We publish independently established facts only if the remaining page is accurate and its main answer, safety advice, medical interpretation and legal accuracy do not depend on resolving the dispute. Otherwise, we hold the page. Unresolved legal or medical questions go to the relevant reviewer. A later secondary account never displaces a current primary source merely because it is newer.

Safety and specialist review

We give the named agency's safety advice exactly as the agency gives it, with a dated link and the country and group concerned. We preserve restrictions and exceptions, including the product class and route where travel rules require them. We never assign a safe or unsafe badge from a cheese name. Health coverage follows the evidence; personal medical questions belong with an appropriate healthcare professional.

High risk pages require specialist review before publication. Law, safety, health, allergy, protected name, ownership and technical production pieces also carry a named reviewer with relevant competence. Authors and Reviewers records their experience, remit and disclosed interests. Cheese Food Safety: The Complete Guide, available now, brings together our practical safety coverage.

AI tools and human responsibility

AI tools may assist research and drafting. A human checks every page against the sources it cites, including names, figures, quotations and links. The named editor approves publication; specialist reviewers retain responsibility for their review. AI output never counts as evidence, expert review, a recorded tasting or a recipe test.

How we verify producers and protected names

Every entity page identifies its kind: Cheese, Cheese family or style, Brand, Producer, Affineur or monger, or Company. We distinguish generic styles, protected products and brands, retaining accents and native spellings. The familiar name leads the page; a protected cheese's fact box prominently gives its exact registered name, authority and register identifier.

Our shared fact records keep articles and directory entries consistent. Fact boxes separate permitted production methods from declared product details, and identify sources and verification dates. Missing evidence appears as Not verified; Not specified means the relevant text sets no value, and Not applicable means the field does not apply.

Before launch, we require full reconciliation of the Protected Cheese Directory against eAmbrosia for EU legal registration data, GIview for geographical indication and agreement coverage, the GB register and national registers elsewhere. The European Commission identifies eAmbrosia as the source of legal registration data; Defra publishes the official GB registers. [1][2][3]

That reconciliation covers protected designations of origin, protected geographical indications, traditional specialities guaranteed and relevant national schemes. Every registered cheese must have a directory record, even before its article exists. We separate registrations in force from applications and cancellations, retaining exact identifiers, effective dates and evidence. Discrepancies are checked against the operative legal act.

Protection is recorded separately by jurisdiction. We never infer worldwide protection from one register. Adoption, publication, entry into force and application dates remain distinct. For producers, business status, production, visitor access and the physical site are separate checks. Ownership and brand rights carry dates and market scope; an announced transaction remains pending until completion is established.

Protected Names Explained: PDO, PGI and TSG, available now, explains the distinctions for readers.

Editorial independence and images

Editorial decisions follow evidence and reader needs. We accept no sponsored placement and publish no affiliate led rankings. Any commercial relationship must be disclosed before readers engage with the content, with details on Affiliate Disclosure. We publish no retail prices, costs, valuations or deal values; statutory tariff rates may appear as law.

Named cheeses, producers, cheesemongers and brands require real photographs with recorded permission or licences. Historical entries and products subject to jurisdiction specific restrictions use authentic licensed documentary or archival images. Those product pages state which activities are restricted and where. Generated illustrations are limited to generic dishes and explanatory diagrams, clearly identified. Credits appear on Image Credits and Usage Information, with licence evidence retained internally.

Corrections: see the Change Log

Please report an error through Contact, giving the page title, disputed passage and supporting source where possible. We check the evidence, correct substantive errors visibly and record the change and date in Cheese Reference Change Log and Corrections. Related articles and data views are checked together so the correction reaches every affected use.

We recheck safety advice, import rules, protected names, ownership and producer status at least every six months, and law and statistics at least yearly. Source changes trigger earlier review. When official safety, recall, import or allergen advice changes, the editor corrects or temporarily withdraws affected pages and data views the same day. Substantive revisions receive a visible date.

Publisher

Publisher: detimiL gnitekraM latigiD citegrenyS, incorporated in England and Wales under company registration number 09293880. [4]

Sources

1. European Commission, Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development. Geographical indications registers. Live official guidance, accessed November 2026. Identifies eAmbrosia as the source of legal registration data and links to GIview.
2. Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs. Protected geographical food and drink names: UK GI schemes. Published 2020, updated 8 March 2024; accessed November 2026. Describes the UK registers and their geographical scope.
3. Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs. Protected geographical food and drink names. Live official GB registers, accessed November 2026. Includes separate status filters for registered names, applications and cancellations.

Last checked: November 2026

Last checked November 2026.