The EU Court Rejects Motion to Strip Halloumi of Protected Status

The European Union's Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected an attempt to strip halloumi of its protected status, thereby preventing a lawsuit over the valuable cheese, which is the island's largest export commodity after pharmaceuticals.

In its published decision, the EU General Court dismissed the motion to revoke halloumi's PDO (Protected Designation of Origin), filed by Cypriot livestock breeders and their dairy subsidiary.

Halloumi has a PDO status, which means that only approved producers from Cyprus can sell the cheese under this name. However, the official product specifications sparked a negative reaction from Cyprus' dairy industry.

Authorities argue that the cheese should be made from a mixture of cow, sheep, and goat milk, gradually replacing cow's milk, which has been the dominant ingredient in recent years. The petition claimed that Cyprus submitted incorrect halloumi ingredient specifications when applying for PDO status in 2014.

Halloumi won the PDO from the EU in 2021. According to the product specifications, Cyprus intends to gradually increase the amount of sheep and goat milk in the mixture to match that of cow's milk.

This move sparked fierce debates among industry stakeholders, who argue that sheep and goat milk are seasonal and could therefore affect production capacities.

It is noted that the current mixture includes 10 percent sheep and goat milk. When authorities decided to raise the rate to 19 percent in October of last year, cheese producers threatened to close their dairy plants as there was not enough milk for the uninterrupted production of all dairy products.

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