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The Feta War
Since 1989, Greece has been petitioning the EU to ban other member states from labeling their white shepherd’s cheese "feta". In 1992 the EU developed a program that allowed a country or a region within a country, to protect specific foods in order to maintain their authenticity and prevent, at least within the EU, competition from so-called imitation products.
Thus was born the Protected Designation of Origin or PDO status.In 1994, Greece asked for Feta to be protected under PDO status and this request was accepted by the European Commission in 1996. However, this decision was met by disapproval from Denmark, Germany, and France. Denmark was especially vocal in its condemnation. The country is the second largest producer after Greece of "feta", churning out about 30 tonnes annually. These countries claimed that Feta is a generic term, like cheddar. As a result of these challenges, the EU reversed its decision in 1999. To settle the controversy, the Commission conducted a survey to determine if the word "feta" was associated in European population’s mind with Greece (it was certainly associated in the minds of imitation-feta marketers, who were known to utilize labels featuring the Greek flag). In addition, the Greek ministry for dairy products began to prepare research and evidence to defend
their position.
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On July 27, 2002, with all the evidence submitted, the EU Agricultural Ministers voted on the issue. The results of the vote were not given. The Commission then took over and determined that PDO status would be granted to Feta as a Greek product. The commission gave other nations five years to find a new name for their white "fetas" or to stop production Yet the battle still was not over. The Danes and Germans appealed the decision,
again claiming that Feta was a generic name. Finally, just several months ago,
the EU’s highest court settled the issue: Feta is Greek. There can be no more appeals. |
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Is Feta Really Greek?
Authentic Feta can only come from Greece. Further, it has to come from certain specific regions, namely Macedonia, Thrace, Epirus, Thessaly, central Greece, the Peloponnesus and the prefecture of Lesvos. The reason for this has less to do with nationalism and more to do with ecology.
Greece in general and the mountainous regions in particular are ecologically rich and diverse. According to the Greek Ministry for the Environment, there are
over 5,500 different recorded species of flora in Greece, about a 1,000 of those species are endemic to the land and over 700 of those may be found only in Greece.
That’s what the sheep and goats are eating, and it comes through in their milk.
This biodiversity was one of the central factors leading the EU granting PDO status to Feta. In the opinion of the Commission, biodiversity coupled with the special breeds of sheep and goats used for milk gave Feta a specific aroma and flavor.
Finding Real Feta
Outside of Greece it is sometimes difficult to find real Feta. The situation should improve in the EU in 2007, when all European countries must comply with the EC’s PDO ruling on Feta. Unfortunately,
the US does not recognize PDO status, so imitation fetas will likely flourish there for much time to come.
And flourish they do. The leading brand of "feta" in the US is Athenos. You would think from the brand’s name that this cheese came from Athens, Greece, but it actually comes from North Central Wisconsin. Manufactured by Kraft-subsidiary Churny, this "feta" cheese holds a 64% share
of the retail category. It’s made from cows’ milk and bears about as much relation
to authentic Feta as Processed American Cheese Food does to a Farmhouse Cheddar.
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