After Europe, Greece wins feta cheese battle in Canada

(ATHENS) - Nearly a decade after winning exclusive rights in Europe to market its popular tangy cheese feta, Greece has scored a similar victory in Canada, the agriculture minister said on Friday.

"We have achieved our objective. Even in Canada, nobody can call the cheese 'feta'," Agriculture Minister Athanassios Tsaftaris told Vima radio.

Instead Canadian producers must label their cheese 'feta-style', the minister said.

The issue arose during trade negotiations between the European Union and Canada, which signed a deal Friday after four years of talks.

According to Tsaftaris, Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras had specifically called EU Commission President Jose Manual Barroso to press the point.

"The appellation of origin of European products must be respected," the minister said, adding that Greece would next take the battle to the American market, to claim rights for feta and Greek yoghurt.

Made from sheep and/or goat's milk, feta is a designation of origin protected by the European Union and one of Greece's most popular products.

Greece waged a long legal battle to prevent producers elsewhere in Europe from using the 'feta' label, winning a major victory at the European Union's top court in 2005.