EU plans for the world’s largest free trade deal with the US are threatened by intractable differences over food names, such as Feta – a designated cheese of Greece. EU trade negotiators are embroiled in transatlantic negotiations ot defend the name of the signature cheese of Greece.

Washington does not object to protection of niche items such as British Melton Mowbray pork pies but they object to offering protection for feta, Parma ham or parmesan, the biggest maker of which is America’s Kraft Food.

The EU introduced GIs and designations of origin in 1992 to protect Greek feta, meaning ‘slice’ in Greek. 10 years later it declared any non-Greek production of feta as fraudulent.

For 6,000 years, Greece has produced (feta) continuously using milk from ewes and goats,” said christina Onassis, marketing manager at  the Lytras and Sons diary in central Greece. “We also ripen the cheese for days, which does not happen in any othr feta production.”

The feta exports of cash-strapped Greece rose 85% between 2007 and 2014 to 260 million euros. Sales to countries outside the EU more than doubled. US producers, however, argue that the EU has gone too far when including gorgonzola and feta in a list of products that have GI status as they are not region-specific.