Popular Australian cheese company, Coon, has revealed its new name.

The cheese will be known as Cheer cheese from July.

It comes after parent company, Saputo, announced last July that it would be retiring the Coon name after 85 years, due to racist connotations associated with its former name.

The cheese was originally named after the man who developed the maturation process, Edward William Coon.

Saputo Dairy Australia CEO, Lino Saputo, said the company felt it had a responsibility change its name.

“Coon is not a pleasant name or a pleasant connotation for some consumers,” he said.

“With all due respect to Edward William Coon, we thought it was the right time to change the name.”

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(Photo: Image: Coon / Saputo