Halloumi cheese to get PDO stamp

The Commission’s Quality Committee on Friday put its eagerly-awaited stamp of approval on Cyprus’ request for registering halloumi/hellim as a product of Protected Designation of Origin (PDO).

The PDO case for halloumi/hellim has been on the Commission’s agenda since 2015, with final announcements on Friday’s decision to be issued next week.

The required change to the Green Line regulation to allow halloumi produced in the north to pass through the buffer zone was also approved last week. The amendment will allow cheese produced in the north to be exported across the EU by passing through government-controlled areas.

Checks for full compliance with EU health and safety standards by Turkish Cypriot producers will be conducted by an independent company that will have open lines of communication with the Commission and the Republic of Cyprus.

Though the Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar said recently that achieving PDO status for halloumi and hellim would be an important step for fostering trust between the two communities ahead of the informal Geneva meeting on the Cyprus problem scheduled for late April, Tatar also said he would put his put down on allowing the Republic to have jurisdiction on the matter.