BRITAIN’S only feta producer has said that a European court ruling that the name may be used only by Greek cheese-makers will lead to shortages.

Judy Bell, of Shepherds Purse Cheese in Yorkshire, branded the decision by the Luxembourg court as “ludicrous”, and said that it would cost jobs and money.

The European Court of Justice ended a 13-year dispute when it ruled that the name “feta” must be used only for white cheese soaked in brine and made in Greece. The ruling was made under the same legislation that ensures that champagne comes from Champagne, France, and Parma ham must come from Parma in Italy. There is no right of appeal.

The ruling has caused chaos in the European feta industry, with all manufacturers, apart from Greeks, being barred from using the name from 2007. There are large-scale feta manufacturers in Denmark, Germany and France, who produce tens of thousands of tonnes a year and who have been producing the cheese for nearly a century.

Although Greece is the biggest producer of feta cheese, making 115,000 tonnes a year, most of it is for domestic consumption.

Ms Bell, who produces a tonne a week in the summer peak and supplies most big British supermarkets, said: “It’s absolutely ludicrous. This is a real knock-back. Where is feta going to come from now? It can’t all come from Greece.”

She will now have to choose a new name for her cheese. She will not be able to choose anything that passes itself off as “feta”, such as “fetta” or “pheta”, but should be able to call it “greek-style” cheese or “crumbly white goats’ cheese soaked in brine”.

The decision is hard for Denmark, which has been making feta since the 1930s, and is Europe’s second-largest producer, making 30,000 tonnes a year, some of it for export to Greece. Hans Bender, EU director of the Danish Dairy Board, said: “This ruling goes against all law. It is scandalous.”

The case is particularly controversial because feta is not a place in Greece, but a word derived from the Italian “fetta” meaning “slice”. The British, French, Danish and German Governments argued that it has become a generic term, such as Yorkshire pudding, and so cannot be reserved for use by one region.

However, the court ruled that the name is traditional only in Greece, where small native breeds of goats and sheep, feeding on local plants, give the cheese a specific aroma and flavour. They also declared that the traditional production method, which requires straining without pressure, has also given feta cheese its international reputation. Greece, which started producing feta 6,000 years ago, is still responsible for 85 per cent of feta consumption in Europe.

The judges said that most Greeks think of feta as a Greek cheese, and that “in other member states, feta is commonly marketed with labels referring to Greek cultural traditions and civilisation. Thus consumers in those member states perceive feta as a cheese associated with Greece, even if in reality it has been produced in another member state.”

Ms Bell said: “It’s a recipe; our cheese is just as acceptable. It is authentic, made with 100 per cent ewes’ milk.”

Edward McMillan-Scott, a Tory MEP, said: “Such a tough restriction is entirely unnecessary.”

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