Why the European Court’s ruling to uphold the protected status of Feta cheese was the right decision

Greek food made headlines last week [check at date of publishing]. Not only because of our country’s rising exports (up almost 47% in May on the previous year), but because of a landmark decision by the European Union to protect the Greek status of Feta cheese.  

The ruling upholds the fact that only Feta made in Greece can be sold as ‘Feta’, protecting not only the intellectual property right for an essential Greek export, its economic and historical value, but also a staple of the wider Greek diet, which new generations are now rediscovering as one of the healthiest that there is.

According to Homer, the first ever cheesemaker was Polyphemus, the single-eyed cyclops son of the sea-god Poseidon. Polyphemus discovered that milk from his sheep would turn hard after a few days, creating a delicious cheese for his meals. Whilst this is obviously a myth (we all know it takes at least two months for good white cheese to mature), there’s something about this story that underlines the enduring centrality of food to Greek culture.

Feta cheese has been part of the Greek diet for thousands of years, and the way it is made has been passed down through generations. It’s because of this that the EU gave Feta Protected Designation of Origin 20 years ago, and then intervened when other cheesemakers in Europe continued trying to make a white cheese that they branded as Feta.

Tens of thousands of Greek farmers make up to 120,000 tons of feta every year, with an estimated 30,000 to 40,000 tons exported around the world. Our friends in Germany have a particular taste for it, buying up around a third of our total exports.

So when people buy Feta, of course they are buying a tasty product to feed their family, a guarantee that only the best white cheese will be on their table, but they are also buying a piece of Greece. They are buying into millennia of accumulated knowledge and culture, and a healthy diet that aids longevity.

That Greek diet is regarded as one of the healthiest in the world because it focuses on fruit and vegetables, on fish, and of course, the use of the best olive oil (sorry Italy), and some cheese and yoghurt. 

The enduring success of Greek food exports points to buyers’ appreciation of their quality, rather than a focus on cost, and bodes well for this country’s continuing economic growth despite the broader global macro-economic headwinds.