Greek academics have taken the unusual step of creating a Feta-friendly club in an effort to protect the iconic cheese.
Agricultural University of Athens professors, journalists and consumers association (EKPIZO) founded the Friends of Feta Club, to promote the Greek cheese's EU status as protected designation of origin (PDO) beyond Europe.
Feta cheese has been designated PDO by the European Union, after several legal challenges by other EU countries. The designation “for cheese produced at specific regions in Greece and with specific ingredient” is legally binding only within the EU, not internationally.
EKPIZO, which issued a statement on Tuesday, said there was concern that international agreements such as that of CETA (EU, Canada) with African countries would allow other countries to use the name "feta", which "might possibly create confusion as to which product among white cheeses is truly Greek Feta."
The association called on Greek consumers to support the effort by logging in on the web site fetasos.gr and finding more information.
