French producers of \"Gruyere\" cheese have won recognition for their produce under an all-important regional trading name system -- but it will have to have holes, unlike Swiss Gruyere, the European Commission said Friday. \"The European Commission proposal to register the denomination \'Gruyere\' as a protected geographical indicator has been approved\" by a committee of EU experts, EU farming commission spokesman Roger Waite said. The requirement is that French Gruyere cheese must contain holes \"between the size of a pea and a cherry,\" and the French origin must be visible on packaging, Waite said. To-date, only Swiss Gruyere benefited from this degree of protection under a bilateral accord between the EU and non-member Switzerland. Australian and New Zealand producers, as well as the American milk industry, had lodged objections to the recognition of French Gruyere as a distinct product.