British farmhouse cheese

Some British cheeses are made by dairy farmers on their own farms, from their own milk.

Some of their names are protected by law. These notes explain what that protection means, which cheeses carry it, and how to choose and keep cheese safely.

Cheese names protected by law

A geographical indication protects the name of a food linked to a place or a traditional method. The government says it guarantees the product's origin, character and authenticity.

Nobody owns a protected name. Any producer can use it if they follow the product's published specification and are checked to make it. A trade mark is different, because it belongs to the business that registered it.

The UK scheme protects names when the food is sold in England, Scotland and Wales. Defra, the environment department, runs it.

The 18 British cheeses on the register

On 19 October 2026, the UK register listed 18 cheese names from the United Kingdom.

Eleven are protected designations of origin (PDO). They are Beacon Fell Traditional Lancashire, Bonchester, Buxton Blue, Dovedale, Single Gloucester, Staffordshire, Stilton Blue, Stilton White, Swaledale, Swaledale Ewes' Cheese and West Country Farmhouse Cheddar.

Seven are protected geographical indications (PGI). They are Dorset Blue, Exmoor Blue, Orkney Scottish Island Cheddar, Teviotdale, Traditional Ayrshire Dunlop, Traditional Welsh Caerphilly and Yorkshire Wensleydale.

Two specifications, side by side

Stilton makers use only pasteurised cow's milk. The cheese is made in Leicestershire, Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire. It comes as White Stilton and Blue Stilton.

West Country Farmhouse Cheddar comes from Dorset, Somerset, Devon and Cornwall. Its makers may use pasteurised or unpasteurised milk. They keep the cheese for at least nine months before it goes on sale.

Each name on the register comes with its own specification, which anyone can read.

Raw-milk cheese and pregnancy

Most cheese sold in supermarkets is made from pasteurised milk, and the packaging says so. Some farmhouse cheeses, such as West Country Farmhouse Cheddar, can be made with unpasteurised (raw) milk.

The NHS says hard cheeses such as cheddar are safe in pregnancy, pasteurised or not. Mould-ripened soft cheeses with a white rind, soft blue-veined cheeses and soft cheese made from unpasteurised milk need cooking until steaming hot. They can carry listeria bacteria.

The Food Standards Agency advises that people with a weakened immune system are especially vulnerable to food poisoning from raw milk and cream.

Keeping cheese at home

The Food Standards Agency recommends a fridge set between 0 and 5°C, checked with a fridge thermometer once a week. Dairy foods belong in the fridge. Follow the storage instructions and the dates on the packaging.

Chilled food should be out of the fridge for as short a time as possible, and four hours at most.

The people behind the cheese

The Specialist Cheesemakers Association has spoken for the UK's artisan and speciality cheese makers since 1989. It has an Assured Code of Practice that sets standards for producing food safely.

The Academy of Cheese is a not-for-profit body that runs cheese education. Its four levels of certification start with Level One Associate and go up to Master of Cheese.