Athens pushes for geographical protection of Greek Yoghurt

The Greek ministry of agriculture will push for a geographical protection for “Greek yogurt” considering the rising consumer demand as well as the recent dispute with Prague.

The Greek ministry of agriculture will push for a geographical protection for “Greek yogurt” considering the rising consumer demand as well as the recent dispute with Prague.

The product name ‘Greek yogurt’ is not protected by a geographical indication but comes under the EU Regulation on the provision of food information to consumers.

Following a proposal by the Association of Greek Breeders, the Greek ministry of agriculture established a 14-member working group which will prepare the technical details of an application for registration of the name ‘Greek yoghurt’ under the EU food quality schemes to get a geographical indication.

Athens is leading the way in seeking to ensure a Protected Designation of Origin as well as a Protected Geographical Indication for its yoghurt.

Already disappointed by the lack of protection for its traditional Feta cheese (Protected Designation of Origin) under the trade agreement between the EU and Canada (CETA), Athens reacted strongly to the use of ‘Greek-style yoghurt’, especially by another EU member state.

“We are taking another important step in securing our traditional product, Greek yoghurt, which is famous for its unique quality on European and international markets,” Greek Agriculture Minister Evangelos Apostolou commented, adding that with this move another priority is to ensure the income of yoghurt producers as well as producers of raw materials.

Takis Peveretos, President of the Association of Greek Breeders, told Greek media, “If we succeed [in protecting the product] the benefits for yogurt would be great as it will be protected from other countries which increasingly try to usurp it considering the growing demand from consumers.”