US soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful is being sued by the producers of Italian hard cheese Grana Padano, according to The Local. The cheese makers are taking legal action against the TV series for allegedly belittling their product.

In an episode of the long-running drama series one of the main characters, security guard Charlie Webber, realises while cooking that he has mistakenly bought Grana Padano cheese.

“Oh no, I got Padano!” the character says with disgust. He then goes back to the store to buy the ‘correct’ cheese, the famous Parmigiano-Reggiano parmesan.

Both cheeses are made with similar aging process. Grana Padano, which is less matured than the competitor, is often sold at a cheaper price.

The producers of Grana Padano were unhappy about the remark, claiming the gag has damaged their brand. Lawyers of the cheese makers filed a damages complaint against the show.

“What disturbed us was the dramatic way the cheese was denigrated… the actor reacted to it so negatively, almost as if he had poison in his hand,” general director of the Grana Padano Consortium Stefano Berni told The Telegraph.

“I mean, ‘Hey mister, we’re talking about the most widely consumed cheese in the world, a cheese with a tradition going back 1,000 years, made with great quality and sacrifice,” he continued.

The US is currently the second biggest foreign market for Grana Padano after Germany, where The Bold and the Beautiful is also broadcast. Italy exports more than €750 million worth of cheese every year.

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