Good news for cheese lovers and Italian aficionados – Parmesan is now kosher.

The first wheel of kosher Parmesan – complete with a Star of David stamped on its rind - was revealed at the Milan World’s Fair last week.

Known as the ‘king of Italian cheeses’ Parmesan – or more accurately ‘Parmigiano-Reggiano’ – is made under strict guidelines. these stipulate a minimum ripening period of 12 months and that it must be produced in the area which gave the cheese its name: Parma, Reggio Emilia, Modena and Bologna.

Another guideline – and the one which until now has meant that Parmesan has been off the kosher food lists – says that it must be curdled with animal rennet.

However, the producers of the kosher cheese have found a way to ‘treat [it] in a way that leaves no trace of meat," according to Elia Richetti, a rabbi in Milan, who says that the necessary enzyme is not considered meat. Nontheless the rennet must still be extracted from a kosher animal for the cheese to be considered kosher.

Nicola Bertinelli, CEO of the family company that produced the cheese said: “It has been a big challenge: bringing together an accurate culinary Italian tradition and the strict requirements of kashrut, without affecting the quality of the product.”

Mr Bertinelli said he plans to produce around 5,000 kosher Parmesan wheels each year and will export predominantly to North America and Israel.