Cyprus’ famed halloumi cheese earns coveted EU quality mark

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — The European Union has recognized halloumi as a traditional product of Cyprus, which will shield the country’s top food export from an increasing number of foreign producers using the cheese’s name to muscle into a 224-million-euro ($267 million) market, the Cypriot agriculture minister said Tuesday. Costas Kadis said that after a seven-year effort, the salty rubbery cheese made from goats’ and sheep’s milk that’s prized for its ability to withstand melting on the grill, has earned the EU’s top quality mark— the Protected Designation of Origin. That means that only Cypriot halloumi — or hellim in Turkish — can be marketed abroad under that name. The EU has made no official announcement on the matter. Kadis said the timing of the designation was crucial as more competitors trying to cash in on the cheese’s popularity were taking advantage of the legal void to market their own version of halloumi under that name that doesn’t necessarily conform to traditional ...