The European Court of Justice has condemned Denmark for tolerating the production of counterfeit PDO feta. (1)
Counterfeit Feta Made in Denmark
Feta is a traditional Greek cheese made from sheep’s and goat’s milk raised in the same production area. It was registered as a protected designation of origin (PDO) in 2002, following a lengthy dispute with Denmark, Germany and France, which objected to the generalization of its name and demanded that it be used on their imitation products. (2)
Denmark, despite this, continues to tolerate the production of counterfeit feta. An imitation cheese, made from cow’s milk, Made in Denmark, which has been sold worldwide as (fake) feta since 1963. A fraud in trade on a global scale, in violation of the European Geographical Indications (GIs) protection scheme.
The infringement procedure
The European Commission-supported by Greece and Cyprus-challenged Denmark in 2019 for misusing the PDO. Copenhagen resisted, arguing that the production of Danish feta for non-EU markets would be lawful and its ban would constitute an obstacle to free trade.
A singular position, given that PDO feta accounts for 10 percent of Greek exports and the offering on international markets of an imitation Danish cheese of the same name, a genuine counterfeit feta, causes serious harm to both trade and the distinctive image and reputation of the traditional Greek PDO product.
Community law violated
The European Court of Justice (ECJ), on 14.7.22, finally ruled that ‘Denmark has violated its obligations under Regulation (EU) No. 1151/2012 by failing to prevent or discontinue the use of the name “Feta” on cheese produced in Denmark and intended for export to third countries.’ (3)
The Court’s decision consists of three interpretive steps:
1 – the reg. EU 1151/2012 does not expressly prohibit the production with a view toexport outside the EU of imitations of products protected as PDOs in Europe, but does not exclude this hypothesis from the prohibitions on counterfeiting and evocation,
2 – the aforementioned regulation protects PDOs and PGIs as intellectual property rights, which are also subject to protection against imitations intended for non-EU exports,
3 – the improper use of the PDO is contrary to the objective of the European legislator to ensure that producers in a given geographical area are recognized, including in terms of economic value, for the traditional quality of their products.
Notes
(1) Judgment of the Court in Case C-159/20 | Commission v. Denmark (PDO Feta) 14.7.22, https://bit.ly/3IS9OXU
(2) 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’ (OJ 2002 L 277, p. 10). https://bit.ly/3aWe644
See also https://bit.ly/3yYs0KO
(3) Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 November 2012 on quality schemes for agricultural products and foodstuffs (OJ 2012 L 343, p. 1) https://bit.ly/3Prc7DV
Professional journalist since January 1995, he has worked for newspapers (Il Messaggero, Paese Sera, La Stampa) and periodicals (NumeroUno, Il Salvagente). She is the author of journalistic surveys on food, she has published the book "Reading labels to know what we eat".
