Who checks for halloumi - What does the Minister answer? Trade (vid)

The Minister of Energy, Trade and Industry, Natasa Pileidou, speaking at Mesimeri kai Kati, explained the process of controlling the halloumi.

Specifically, he explained that until the implementation of the PDO dossier, the production was based on the brand. The Ministry of Commerce, as the trademark manager, must conduct audits at two levels.

At the level of commercial offices that operate in different countries and whenever they find hallucinations that are not compatible with the brand, actions are taken to withdraw.
The second level is the specifications, which must be met based on the brand and not the PDO. The PDO is managed by the Ministry of Agriculture and the control responsibility is provided by Bureau Veritas (BV).

He stressed that the Legal Service needs to clarify a key point. Whether trademarks can be used in parallel with PDOs. There is a view that this possibility probably does not exist and the brands will become unemployed due to the PDO.

In Cyprus in 2020-2022 we have approached 34 companies, six of which joined the PDO. These six are no longer controlled by the Ministry of Commerce. The remaining 28 have submitted samples and been sent to the state chemist for tests, such as quotas.