Commission Regulation (EC) No 1829/2002 of 14 October 2002 amending the Annex to Regulation (EC) No 1107/96 with regard to the name "Feta" (Text with EEA relevance)
Date: 2002-10-14
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: agricultural product, cheese, designation of origin, foodstuff, location of production, product designation

L 277/10

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Official Journal of the European Communities

15.10.2002

COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 1829/2002

of 14 October 2002

amending the Annex to Regulation (EC) No 1107/96 with regard to the name ‘Feta’

(Text with EEA relevance)

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 2081/92 of 14
indications and
July 1992 on the protection of geographical
designations of origin for agricultural products and food-
stuffs (1), as last amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No
2796/2000 (2), and in particular Article 17 thereof,

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

(6)

Under Article 17(1) of Regulation (EEC) No 2081/92, on
21 January 1994 the Greek authorities sent the Commis-
sion an application for the registration of the name ‘Feta’
for a cheese.

The name ‘Feta’ was registered as a protected designation
of origin under Commission Regulation (EC) No 1107/
96 of 12 June 1996 on the registration of geographical
indications and designations of origin under the proce-
dure laid down in Article 17 of Council Regulation (EEC)
No 2081/92 (3), as last amended by Commission Regula-
tion (EC) No 546/2002 (4).

The Kingdom of Denmark,
the Federal Republic of
Germany and the French Republic subsequently brought
an action for that registration to be annulled under
Article 230 of the Treaty.

In its judgment of 16 March 1999 on Joined Cases C-
289/96, C-293/96 and C-299/96, the Court of Justice
partly annulled Regulation (EC) No 1107/96 in so far as
it registered the name ‘Feta’ as a protected designation of
origin. The Court considered that the Commission ‘did
not take due account of all the factors which the third
indent of Article 3(1) of the basic Regulation required it
to take into consideration’, emphasising in particular that
the Commission had paid insufficient attention to the
actual situation in the Member States.

Commission Regulation (EC) No 1070/1999 amending
the Annex to Regulation (EC) No 1107/96 (5) accord-
ingly deleted the name ‘Feta’ from the said Annex and
from the register of protected designations of origin and
geographical indications.

Next, on 15 October 1999, the Commission sent each of
the Member States a detailed questionnaire intended to
provide an exhaustive updated picture of the situation in
all the Member States with regard to the production and
consumption of ‘Feta’ and the knowledge of the term
professed by Community consumers.

(1) OJ L 208, 24.7.1992, p. 1.
(2) OJ L 324, 21.12.2000, p. 26.
(3) OJ L 148, 21.6.1996, p. 1.
(4) OJ L 86, 3.4.2002, p. 7.
(5) OJ L 130, 26.5.1999, p. 18.

(7) With regard to the production of

‘Feta’ cheese,

the
Member States were asked to describe the situation as
regards the following factors: the existence of national
rules or specific codified practices,
the conditions in
which production was commenced (in particular the
objectives sought, whether the initiative was private or
public, the markets and the consumer profile targeted),
the quantities produced each year, the final destination
of the product, and the exact names of the relevant
trademarks used.

(8) With regard to the consumption of ‘Feta’ cheese, the
Member States were asked to describe the situation as
regards the following factors: the existence of rules on
the marketing of this cheese, the quantities consumed
each year, the geographic origin of the cheese consumed,
and the specific labels present on the market.

(9) With regard to consumer knowledge of the name ‘Feta’,
the Member States were asked to describe the situation
as regards the following factors: definitions of this term,
in particular in general works such as dictionaries and
encyclopaedias, relevant demoscopic studies or surveys,
and any other additional information.

(10)

(11)

The Commission summarised the information received
overall and by Member State, and the Member States
subsequently made a number of corrections and amend-
ments.

The information shows that in 12 Member States the
production of ‘Feta’ cheese is not governed by specific
rules laying down precise definitions of quality, produc-
tion methods or, where applicable, geographical areas of
production.
In Greece, production practices for ‘Feta’
cheese have been codified in increasingly specific terms
since 1935, and the definition of the geographical area
of production, traditionally based on consistent and equi-
table practices, was protected in 1988. Legislation on the
quality specifications to be complied with in producing
‘Feta’ cheese has existed in Denmark since 1963 and was
in force in the Netherlands between 1981 and 1998. It
should also be noted that the term ‘Feta’ appears in
Community rules on export refunds for milk and milk
products and the combined customs nomenclature.
These rules relate to customs matters alone and seek
neither
regulate
to interpret consumer opinion nor
industrial property rights, nor do they have any bearing
on the name under which the cheese concerned is actu-
ally marketed, which depends exclusively on considera-
tions related to consumer expectations in the various
countries of destination concerned.

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(12)

Production of ‘Feta’ cheese, as defined in the combined
customs nomenclature,
is non-existent in Luxembourg
and Portugal. It is, or has been, statistically and econom-
ically marginal or sporadic in nine other Member States:
Italy, Belgium, Finland, Austria,
the
United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Spain.

Ireland, Sweden,

(13) However, production of ‘Feta’ cheese has been found to
be substantial in four Member States. Greece has been
producing ‘Feta’ cheese since ancient times, almost exclu-
sively for the Greek market. Official statistics going back
to 1931 indicate an output of 25 000 tonnes, and
production has now reached around 115 000 tonnes a
year. In Greece, cheese bearing the designation 'Feta' is
made exclusively from ewe's milk or from a mixture of
ewe's and goat's milk.

(14) Denmark has been producing ‘Feta’ cheese since the
1930s, almost exclusively for export. No data are avail-
able before 1967, when 133 tonnes was produced.
Output exceeded 1 000 tonnes in 1971 and, when the
Community began granting export refunds on exports of
‘Feta’ cheese in 1975, output increased tremendously,
from 9 868 tonnes in 1975 to a peak of 110 932 tonnes
in 1989. Since 1995, output has fallen steadily, and
amounted to only 27 640 tonnes in 1998, largely due to
a fall in demand from third countries and the gradual
reduction in export refunds for this type of cheese.
Danish production is almost exclusively made from
cow's milk.

(15)

France began producing ‘Feta’ cheese in 1931. No data
are available before 1980, when 875 tonnes was
produced. From 1988 to 1998 output varied between
7 960 tonnes and 19 964 tonnes. Originally manufac-
tured to meet demand from France's Armenian and
Greek communities,
‘Feta’ cheese is now produced for
export, with 77,5 % of output on average going to the
other Member States and the rest of the world. The
French production is based on the utilisation, principally,
of ewe's milk, and to a lesser extent, cow's milk.

(16) Germany has been producing 'Feta' cheese since 1972
(when production of 78 tonnes was recorded). In 1977
production exceeded the 5 000 tonnes mark, just topped
15 000 tonnes in 1980 and reached 24 000 tonnes in
1985, since when it has oscillated between 19 757 and
the only market was the
39 201 tonnes. Originally,
Balkan immigrant communities within Germany, but
exports gradually developed to Middle Eastern countries
and the Balkans (mainly owing to export refunds) and to
other Member States. German production almost exclu-
sively uses cow's milk.

(17)

It should be pointed out that the above figures, which
are based on data provided by the Member States on

their own output, should be treated as purely indicative
since the absence of a specific legislative framework in
almost all the Member States, along with the very general
definition of the term ‘Feta’
in the combined customs
nomenclature, sometimes leads to rather approximate
estimates, and cross-comparisons of responses produce
statistically divergent data. Indeed, many Member States
find it difficult to distinguish between domestic output
and re-exports, which may unduly inflate the figures.

(18) As regards Member States' legislation on the consump-
tion of ‘Feta’ cheese, as a general rule only the Commu-
in
nity and national provisions relating to cheeses
general apply to marketing, presentation and labelling.
Only Greece and Denmark have specific detailed legisla-
tion on these aspects, while Austria confines the name
‘Feta’ to Greek products, by virtue of its 1971 bilateral
agreement with Greece.

(19) As regards the volume of consumption of ‘Feta’ in the
Community, analysis of the replies given by the Member
States shows that a broad estimate calculated by adding
the quantities of ‘Feta’ cheese produced and imported,
and subtracting the quantities exported, has proved
inadequate in some cases and has even produced anoma-
lous results in others: since it
is impossible to take
account of existing stocks, quantities re-exported and
other factors, the calculation has resulted in theoretically
negative consumption in some Member States. Further-
more, ‘Feta’ cheese as defined in the combined customs
nomenclature is not systematically marketed under that
name, either because of legal restrictions reserving the
use of the term to products that meet certain more
specific requirements, or for commercial reasons which
tend to prefer distinct names which are recognised by
the consumers for whom the cheese is intended. Despite
the relative uncertainty caused by this state of affairs, the
replies sent by the Member States suggest that when
Greece joined the European Community it accounted for
some 92 % of Community consumption of ‘Feta’. While
consumption has gradually increased in the other
Member States since then, Greece still accounts for about
73 % of Community consumption of ‘Feta’. A breakdown
of consumption in each Member State shows that annual
consumption of
‘Feta’ cheese per person in Spain,
Luxembourg, Portugal, Italy and the Netherlands is no
more
than 0,010 kg, or 0,08 % of Community
consumption. In Ireland, the United Kingdom, Austria,
France, Sweden, Belgium and Finland, annual consump-
tion of ‘Feta’ cheese per person varies between 0,040 kg
and 0,150 kg, or between 0,32 % and 1,22 % of
in
Community consumption.
as
and 0,700 kg
Germany
compared to 10,500 kg (85,64 %) in Greece.

It is 0,290 kg (2,36 %)
in Denmark,
(5,0 %)

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(20) According to the information sent by the Member States,
those cheeses actually bearing the name ‘Feta’ on
Community territory generally make explicit or implicit
reference to Greek territory, culture or tradition, even
when produced in Member States other than Greece, by
adding text or drawings with a marked Greek connota-
tion. The link between the name ‘Feta’ and Greece is thus
deliberately suggested and sought as part of a sales
strategy that capitalises on the reputation of the original
product, and this creates a real risk of consumer confu-
sion. Labels for ‘Feta’ cheese not originating in Greece
but actually marketed in the Community under that
name without making any direct or indirect allusion to
Greece are in the minority and the quantities of cheese
actually marketed in this way account for a very small
proportion of the Community market.

Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Cyprus, Denmark and Greece, the
country of origin, one work refers to a cheese made in
Greece and in the Balkans, another refers to a Greek
cheese made from ewe's or goat's milk, but made from
cow's milk in the United States, and four works suggest
that a cheese made by the ancient Greeks was the direct
forerunner of the ‘Feta’ cheese made in Greece today. In
all languages, the way the definition of ‘Feta’ cheese has
evolved over time has not diminished the association
and identification with Greece.

(22) All the information forwarded by the Member States was
also forwarded to the Scientific Committee, hereinafter
referred to as ‘the Committee’, which issued a unanimous
opinion on the matter on 24 April 2001.

(23)

(24)

(21) General reference works such as dictionaries and ency-
clopaedias, and specialised publications sent in by the
Member States, show that the term ‘Feta’ does not appear
in Italian- and Portuguese-language works, while all
Greek-, Spanish- and Dutch-language publications refer
exclusively to a Greek cheese made from ewe's and goat's
milk. Swedish works refer to a cheese of Greek origin
made from ewe's and goat's milk, which is now also
produced in other Member States from cow's milk,
Denmark and Sweden being mentioned in particular. In
Danish-language works, reference is made predominantly
to a Greek cheese made from ewe's and goat's milk, but
also to a cheese made in Denmark and the Balkans, and
even without any specific geographical reference. Finnish
works refer solely to a Greek cheese or cheese of Greek
origin made from ewe's milk or from ewe's milk and
goat's milk, with the exception of one work which states
no geographical origin. German works refer to a cheese
produced in Greece and most of the countries of south-
east Europe, and in overseas countries. Fourteen out of
the 17 French-language works forwarded refer to a
Greek cheese made from ewe's milk and/or goat's milk,
while one work refers to a cheese produced in Greece
and in the Balkans, one to a cheese of Greek origin
widely imitated in Europe, and one to a Greek cheese
made from ewe's milk and goat's milk, the production of
which has spread to other countries in the same region,
and more recently to the rest of Europe and to North
the English-language
America, using cow's milk. Of
works, four refer to a cheese made with ewe's milk, espe-
cially in Greece, four others refer to a Greek cheese made
from ewe's milk or goat's milk, one refers to a cheese
originating in Greece and the Middle East, traditionally
made from ewe's milk or goat's milk, but now some-
times also made with cow's milk, two works refer to
'Feta' as a cheese originating in Greece, made from ewe's
or goat's milk, now produced in other countries, though
still most often as an ingredient in Greek dishes, one
in New Zealand,
work refers to production of

'Feta'

The Committee began by stating that ‘[…] a designation
of origin or geographical indication can be considered as
having become the common name of a product only
when there is in the relevant territory no significant part
of the public concerned that still considers the indication
as a geographical indication […]; as regards the territory
where the transformation must have occurred, the situa-
tion in the European Community as a whole must be
considered, given the Community-wide scope of
the
the European
Regulation and the consideration of
Community as comprising a single market. Therefore, it
is not possible to consider exclusively or primarily the
situation in individual Member States in isolation. Article
3 of the Regulation provides for consideration of the
Member State of origin, the Member States of consump-
tion and the other Member States, including pertinent
Community and national legislation. […] As regards the
public concerned, the assessment will depend on the
kind of product and the public to which that product is
the product being a
addressed.
cheese for consumption primarily by the final consumer
(but also by commercial purchasers, such as restaurants,
food factories, etc.), the general public is relevant. There-
fore, it is with regard to the general public that the desig-
nation or indication in question must have lost
its
original geographical meaning. In determining what the
general public perception is, both “direct ”measurements
are relevant, such as opinion polls and other surveys,
and “indirect” measurements, such as the level of produc-
tion and consumption, the kind and nature of labelling
employed, the kind and nature of advertising employed
with regard to such products, use in dictionaries, etc.’

In the present case,

‘Feta’

cheese,

to the production of

the
Turning
Committee noted that production in Greece represents
60 % of total Community production of this cheese, and
90 % of Community production from ewe's and goat's
milk; ‘Feta’ cheese produced from cow's milk represents
total Community production, and is largely
34 % of
destined for third countries.

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(25) As regards consumption, the Committee stressed that
73 % of consumption of 'Feta' cheese actually takes place
in Greece, where annual consumption is 10,5 kg per
person, as against 1,76 kg in the rest of
the EU.
Although the Committee conceded that 'Feta' consump-
tion is certainly much higher than this in Denmark and
Germany, it is still 15 times and 36 times lower than in
Greece, respectively. According to the Committee, 'Feta'
consumption as a proportion of
capita
consumption of cheese is also significant: in Greece in
particular 10,5 kg of 'Feta' is consumed per person per
year out of an annual consumption of 14 kg of cheese;
in Denmark that ratio is 0,7 kg of ‘Feta’ to 15 kg of
cheese; in France, 0,13 kg of ‘Feta’ to 20 kg of cheese;
in Germany, 0,29 kg of ‘Feta’ to 19 kg of cheese.

total per

(26)

(27)

The Committee noted incidentally that
‘a significant
proportion of production outside Greece is exported to
non-member countries and has no influence on the
situation of the designation “Feta” in the single market’
and that ‘the absence of production and consumption in
a number of Member States does not affect the generic
or non-generic nature of the designation’.

Turning to the analysis of the relevant national and
Community legislation, the Committee observed that 12
Member States do not have specific legislation and the
general Community and national rules on cheeses apply
to ‘Feta’. It noted that Greece has had rules on ‘Feta’ since
1935 and Denmark since 1963, and that Austria
reserves the designation ‘Feta’
for the Greek product
under a bilateral agreement of 1971.

(28) As regards the methods for marketing ‘Feta’ cheese in the
Community, the Committee noted that the consumer is
offered ‘two products, with differing compositions and
organoleptic characteristics, under the same designation’.
The Committee pointed out that labels for ‘Feta’ cheese
not originating in Greece make direct or indirect refer-
ences to Greece, implying that the term ‘Feta’ is not used
as a ‘common name, without any geographical signifi-
cance, synonymous with white cheese (of ewe's or cow's
milk) in brine […]’; according to the Committee, ‘Feta’ is
‘generally present(ed) as being of Greek origin […]’.

(29)

The Committee ‘concludes unanimously that the designa-
tion “Feta” is non-generic, in particular for the following
reasons.

the Community market. It should also be noted that in
those Member States that are not significant producers
and consumers, the designation “Feta” could not be said
to have become generic since the word is not used as a
common name.
In consumers' perception the name
“Feta” always evokes a Greek origin and therefore is not
something which has become a common name and
hence generic in the Community.

(31) With regard to the relevant national and Community
legislation, the Scientific Committee notes that in the
majority of Member States there is no specific legislation
or rules for the product concerned. Only Greece and
Denmark have specific legislation. The Danish legislation
permitting the production of a product called “Danish
Feta” differs significantly from the Greek legislation with
regard to technical matters (use of ultrafiltered cow's
rather than ewe's and goat's milk and the use of additives
until 1994). In addition, Denmark has provided no proof
that the designation “Feta” had become a common name
that could be used with the name of the producing
country (“Danish Feta”) at the time when that Member
State permitted its use (1963). Similarly, no proof of its
generic nature has been provided for the subsequent
period.

(32)

(33)

that

The fact
is used in the
the designation “Feta”
common customs nomenclature or in Community legis-
lation on export refunds has no influence on the percep-
tion, knowledge and protection in the single market of
the designation concerned, since that legislation is not
relevant in this context.’

the

The Commission has taken note of the advisory opinion
of the Scientific Committee. It takes the view that the
exhaustive overall analysis of
legal, historical,
cultural, political, social, economic, scientific and tech-
nical
information notified by the Member States or
resulting from investigations undertaken or sponsored
by the Commission leads to the conclusion that in parti-
cular none of the criteria required under Article 3 of
Regulation (EEC) No 2081/92 to show that a name is
generic have been met, and that consequently the name
‘Feta’ has not become ‘the name of an agricultural
product or a foodstuff which, although it relates to the
place or the region where this product or foodstuff was
originally produced or marketed, has become
the
common name of an agricultural product or a foodstuff’.

(30)

Production and consumption of
“Feta” are heavily
concentrated in Greece. The products produced in other
Member States (Germany, Denmark and France), possibly
bearing the name “Feta”, are primarily produced from
cow's milk, using different technology, and are exported
in large quantities to non-member countries. It cannot
therefore be concluded that the designation “Feta” is
generic, since the original Greek product is dominant on

(34)

Since the term ‘Feta’ has not been established as generic,
the Commission has verified, in accordance with Article
17(2) of Regulation (EEC) No 2081/92, that the applica-
tion by the Greek authorities for the name ‘Feta’ to be
registered as a protected designation of origin complies
with Articles 2 and 4 thereof.

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(35)

(36)

The name ‘Feta’ is a traditional non-geographical name
within the meaning of Article 2(3) of Regulation (EEC)
No 2081/92. The terms ‘region’ and ‘place’ mentioned in
that provision may be interpreted only from a geomor-
phological and non-administrative viewpoint, in so far as
in a given
the natural and human factors inherent
product are likely to transcend administrative borders.
Under the above Article 2(3), however, the geographical
area inherent in a designation may not cover an entire
country. In the case of the name ‘Feta’, it has therefore
been noted that the defined geographical area referred to
in the second indent of Article 2(2)(a) of Regulation
(EEC) No 2081/92 covers only the territory of mainland
Greece and the department of Lesbos; all other islands
and archipelagos are excluded because the necessary
natural and/or human factors do not apply there. More-
over, the administrative definition of the geographical
area has been refined and developed, since the product
specification submitted by the Greek authorities contains
in particular, the
mandatory cumulative requirements:
area of origin of the raw material has been substantially
limited since the milk used to produce ‘Feta’ cheese must
come from ewes and goats of local breeds reared tradi-
tionally, whose feed must be based on the flora present
in the pastures of eligible regions.

The geographical area covered by the administrative defi-
nition and meeting the requirements of
the product
specification is sufficiently uniform to meet the require-
ments of Articles 2(2)(a) and 4(2)(f) of Regulation (EEC)
No 2081/92. Extensive grazing and transhumance,
central to the method of keeping the ewes and goats
used to provide the raw material
for making ‘Feta’
cheese, are the result of an ancestral tradition allowing
adaptation to climate changes and their impact on the
available vegetation. This has led to the development of
small native breeds of sheep and goats which are extre-
mely tough and resistant, fitted for survival in an envir-
onment that offers little food in quantitative terms but,
in terms of quality, is endowed with an extremely diver-
sified flora, thus giving the finished product its own
specific aroma and flavour. The interplay between the
above natural factors and the specific human factors, in

(37)

(38)

(39)

the traditional production method, which
particular
requires straining without pressure, has thus given ‘Feta’
cheese its remarkable international reputation.

Since the product specification submitted by the Greek
authorities includes all the information required under
Article 4 of Regulation (EEC) No 2081/92, and the
formal analysis of that specification has not revealed any
obvious error of assessment, the name ‘Feta’ should be
registered as a protected designation of origin.

Regulation (EC) No 1107/96 should therefore be
amended accordingly.

The Committee, provided for in Article 15 of Regulation
(EEC) No 2081/92, has not delivered an opinion within
the time limit set by its Chairman. According to the
fourth paragraph of Article 15 of Regulation (EEC) No
2081/92, the Commission has transmitted the proposal
to the Council. Since the Council has not acted within
the three-month time limit provided for in the fifth para-
graph of Article 15 of the same Regulation (EEC) No
2081/92, the proposed measures are to be adopted by
the Commission,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

The name ‘Φέτα’ (Feta) shall be included in the register of
1.
protected designations of origin and geographical
indications
provided for in Article 6(3) of Regulation (EEC) No 2081/92 as
a protected designation of origin (PDO).

The name ‘Φέτα’ shall be added to part A of the Annex to
2.
Regulation (EC) No 1107/96 under the heading ‘Cheeses’,
‘Greece’.

Article 2

This Regulation shall enter into force on the day of its publica-
tion in the Official Journal of the European Communities.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

Done at Brussels, 14 October 2002.

For the Commission

Franz FISCHLER

Member of the Commission