A confidential memo from Cyprus’s Ministry of Energy, Commerce & Industry (MECI) has sparked concern over the integrity of the island’s most famous export — Halloumi PDO — revealing that cheese made according to the Cyprus Standard CYS 94:1985 no longer meets PDO requirements and cannot legally use the Halloumi name.

The document, submitted to Parliament’s Agriculture Committee, highlights major discrepancies between the 1985 national standard and the approved 2025 PDO specification, including differences in milk ratios, moisture content, and production methods.

It also criticises the long-standing practice of setting goat and sheep milk ratios through decrees issued by the Commerce Ministry, calling it legally unorthodox and an indirect amendment of PDO rules. This authority, it says, should belong to the Ministry of Agriculture, the official PDO regulator.

To fix the issue, MECI proposes giving Agriculture direct power to issue decrees on technical matters during the transitional period, introduce a registry of users of the name “Halloumi”, and include Health and Veterinary Services in PDO oversight.

The memo warns that ongoing confusion between ministries and legal frameworks could undermine Cyprus’s PDO protection in the EU, just as new regulations (EU 2024/1143) tighten control over geographical indications.

With full Halloumi PDO enforcement due in 2025, Cyprus must urgently clarify its governance if it wants to protect the authenticity and global reputation of its national cheese.