Faced with another case of imitation a piece and the false use of the name of the most popular Greek cheese, the Greek authorities, but also Greek dairy industry.

According to with protected information from Sunday’s Daily., the trademark “Athenos Feta” is registered in Chile. And it may be, of course, that the name “Athinos” is more Greek than the name Valbreso FetaFrench feta imitation produced by dairy giant Lactalis and “Kathimerini” revealed last Thursday, but “Athenos Feta” is not made in Tripoli, not in Kalavryta, not in Epirus, but in… Wisconsin, United States of America.

The new “crousma” became known to the Greek authorities only ten days ago, and in the first stage, an objection is expected to be filed with the Intellectual Property Organization of Chile, especially since there is a bilateral agreement between the European Union and Chile, depending on whose fragment is protected as a geographical indication. The illegal use of the name “feta” is not the only thing that “Athenos Feta” and “Valbreso Feta” have in common. In 2020, Athenos, owned by Kraft Heinz, was acquired by the French Lactalis. However, in 2021, Athenos was sold to Lactalis by Swiss Emmi, and it remains to be seen when the Athenos Feta trademark was filed, when it was owned by Lactalis, or later.

However, in the minds of the Greek authorities, there is an opportunity to appeal to the Court of Justice of the European Union, since the case of the French Lactalis has much in common with the case of Denmark and Danish companies. Recall that in July 2022, the EU Court of Justice ruled that the ban on the use of PDO symbols on products that do not meet the relevant specifications also applies to exports to third countries, i.e. outside the EU.

In recent years, the Hellenic Agricultural Organization (ELGO – DIMITRA), through the Hellenic Dairy Industries Association, has supported three more cases related to the illegal use of the name “feta” or an attempt to use it. One case concerns the filing of an opposition to a Fettle trademark application by British Shepherd’s Purse Cheeses Ltd, which was eventually withdrawn. The second concerns an application by the US Dairy Exporters Association (USDEC) to remove the FETA geographic designation from the registry of the Singapore Intellectual Property Organization. USDEC withdrew the application and promised never to take such action again. The third case also concerned American interests in Chile. Specifically, the United States Consortium on Common Food Names (an association that claims names for commonly used foods should not be monopolized) filed for a trademark that contains the term “slice”. Greece submitted an objection, which was accepted.

Of course, not only “bad strangers” Fet gets into adventures. A complaint is currently pending before ELGO-DIMITRA alleging that the Greek company LaFarm, based in Trikala, has a product labeled “Feta Style” in the Lidl supermarket chain in the United States. According to Community Regulation 1151/2012, names registered as PDOs are protected from “any abuse, imitation or reference, even if the true origin of the products or services is stated or if the protected name is translated or accompanied by expressions such as ‘style'”. “, “type”, “method”, “how produced”, “imitation”, etc., including when these products are used as an ingredient.

Importing or even manufacturing companies operating in third countries, mainly Canada and Australia, owned in some cases by Greek emigrants, also play a crucial role in the distribution of cheese products bearing the fictitious name “feta”. In the United Arab Emirates, where “Valbreso Feta” is sold, which, according to the Office of Economic and Commercial Affairs in Dubai, is registered with the UAE Trademark Office, there are other products on the market that bear the name “feta” and were produced in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt under the brands “Chtura”, “Pinar”, “Al Marai”, “Domti”. Feta is also sold under the Lemnos brand. Don’t be fooled by the “Greek” name as this is an Australian product.