EACH Cypriot eats around nine kilos of halloumi every year, which works out to approximately 36 small packets.
That was the verdict of the chairman of the Pan-Cyprian Cheesemakers Association Athos Pittas. He said that Cypriots are “very good cheese eaters, with the average consumption of all cheeses standing at 21 kilos per person, per year, not far behind Greece and France, the two countries which consume the most cheese, at 27 kilos per head.”
Halloumi is by far the most popular cheese, followed by feta, kefalotiri and anari. Of the foreign cheeses, Edam is the one most favoured by Cypriots, followed by cheddar.
Pittas said there are “30-40 registered brands of halloumi and a lot more which is homemade and is not allowed to be sold on the open market. To sell on the open market, a license must be obtained from the Veterinary Department and Health Ministry.”
He added that consumption has been fairly steady over the last few years, but will not go up.
“In my opinion, due to the opening up of the EU market. I believe that production will increase, though, for the international market.
Eliza Markidou, a clinical nutritionist and dietician at the Ministry of Health, offered an explanation to halloumi’s popularity.
“The Mediterranean diet has always included a lot of cheese. Many years ago, people used to preserve their milk, with the help of cheese. Cyprus has grown up with halloumi.”
She said that the cheese has some useful health benefits as “it contains a lot of calcium which is good for the bones and for the prevention of osteoporosis. Halloumi is also a high protein and high cholesterol food. But people on a diet now have the option of low-fat halloumi.”
She added that foreign cheeses are becoming more popular as Cypriots travel abroad more often, but they are seen “as more of a gourmet food, with halloumi being more of an everyday food. Halloumi is also gaining in popularity abroad.”
Farmers in Cyprus have been arguing for months over the true contents of halloumi, which has a history on the island of at least 500 years. Pittas confirmed that it “is made from goat and, or sheep’s milk together or without cow’s milk”.
Cyprus is hoping to get EU protection to prevent the production of cheap imitations of halloumi and to have the cheese registered as a Protected Designation of Origin product.
A file is being prepared for the EU, with Pittas saying, “We feel very confident that we have a strong case that is well supported and documented, so let’s wait and see.”
With Brussels’ approval, Cyprus can reserve the word halloumi and make sure cheese products from other countries cannot be labelled as halloumi.
Pittas, clarified that once it got registered, cheese could only be produced and labelled as halloumi if it was of Cypriot origin, and using Cypriot milk. “It doesn’t matter whether it is from goat, sheep or cow. “It is necessary to safeguard and preserve our national product,” he added.
The EU introduced legislation on geographical indications and designations of origin in July 1992 in an attempt to harmonise the protection of food products at EU level and to bring clarity to the market and protect the interests of producers and consumers. Over 600 agricultural and food products have been protected under this regulation.
