A U.S.-led bid to make an international standard for Parmesan cheese that could be produced anywhere failed after Italy and the European Union insisted it must come from the area around Parma, Italy, U.N. and Italian officials said.

The issue was shelved at a meeting of the Codex Alimentarius, a U.N. commission that sets food safety and quality standards, after it became clear there was not enough agreement to proceed, said John Riddle, a spokesman at the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization.