Halloumi cheese from both parts of Cyprus now protected in the EU

14-Apr-2021 - Germany

halloumi cheese from both parts of Cyprus will be specially protected in the EU in future. After years of preparatory work, the EU Commission has registered the halloumi (Greek) and hellim (Turkish) produced on the Mediterranean island as a "protected designation of origin", as the Brussels authority announced on Monday. This means that certain quality requirements apply. The product must have been produced, processed and manufactured according to certain procedures in a certain area.

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The special thing: The decision applies to both parts of the divided island. The EU Commission spoke of a "symbolic step that brings the two communities closer together and builds trust through cooperation".

Cyprus has been divided into a Greek-Cypriot and a Turkish-Cypriot part since 1974. The entire island republic has been an EU member since 2004. However, EU law and regulations do not apply in the Turkish Cypriot north - unless there is a solution, as in the case of the halloumi. The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is only recognised by Turkey.

The application for recognition as a "protected designation of origin" dates back to 2015, and has now been granted with the approval of the EU states. Only Halloumi/Hellim "which is produced in Cyprus in compliance with the product specification may in future bear the registered name, which brings clear economic advantages for Cyprus", the EU Commission announced./wim/DP/jha (dpa)

Note: This article has been translated using a computer system without human intervention. LUMITOS offers these automatic translations to present a wider range of current news. Since this article has been translated with automatic translation, it is possible that it contains errors in vocabulary, syntax or grammar. The original article in German can be found here.

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