A Cheese by Any Other Name … Geographic Origin Revisited by EU

The European Court of Justice (ECJ), the European Union's highest court, has ruled that "feta" is a traditional Greek name and should enjoy protection within the 25-nation Community. The name "feta" was registered by the European Commission in 2002 as a protected designation of origin (PDO) for a white cheese soaked in brine that originates in Greece. In order to be registered as a PDO, "a traditional name…which is not the name of a region, place or country, must refer to an agricultural product or a foodstuff from a defined geographical environment with specific natural and human factors which is capable of conferring on that product or foodstuff its specific characteristics" and the name must not have become generic. The Commission held that those conditions had been fulfilled and that the native breeds of sheep and goats that provide the raw material were bred to give the cheese its own specific aroma and flavour. Germany and Denmark, supported by France and the United Kingdom, applied for the annulment of the registration. These countries had hoped to continue producing cheese under the name "feta" and argued that it was the technique used to make the cheese that made feta specific and not its geographic origin. The production of feta in these countries has been high (for example, in 2002, Denmark exported most of the 30,000 tons of feta it produced) and of substantial duration (since the 1930s in France and Denmark). In upholding the registration, the ECJ said that "[t]he interplay between the natural factors and the specific human factors, in particular the traditional production method, which requires straining without pressure, has thus given feta cheese its remarkable international reputation." It also rejected the argument that feta had become a generic name. It found that, while other white cheeses soaked in brine have been produced for a long time in several Balkan countries, those cheeses are known in those countries under different names. To view the press release issued by the ECJ, see: http://curia.eu.int/en/actu/communiques/cp05/aff/cp050092en.pdf To read a related news story, see: http://msnbc.msn.com/id/9819837/ Summary by: Clare McCurley