The European Commission has officially recognised sheep’s cheese as a Protected Designation of Origin (PDO).
This was the result of ongoing discussions with the European Commission over the past few years, leading to an agreement that ensures that the laws relating to the production and sale of sheep’s cheese are in line with what is expected of us as a European Member State.
These discussions have led to appropriate standards both in terms of product quality and for the protection of the health of European consumers. Also in agreement with the European Commission, the Government has worked hard to ensure that the traditions linked to the cheese-making process are not lost.
Therefore, a commitment was also made by the Maltese authorities so that the application submitted by the Sheep and Goat Producers Association would contain all the information necessary for scrutiny and evaluation, according to the criteria established by the European Commission, so that sheep cheese would be protected.
This has led to the fact that from today we can start seeing “sheep cheese” on our store shelves with the labelling specifying that this product has joined the rest of the register of European protected designations of origin (PDO). This means that from today the cheese will have the appropriate status with both citizens from European Union member countries, as well as tourists visiting our country and it will be given prominence in the list of quality products in the agreement that the European Union has with its trading partners around the world.
In fact, in Brussels, on the sidelines of the Council of Ministers of Agriculture, Minister Anton Refalo was presented by European Commissioner Christophe Hansen with the certificate marking this historic recognition for our country.
During an event held at Dar Malta to celebrate this occasion, in the presence of the President of the Sheep and Goat Producers Association, Minister Anton Refalo praised the work carried out by the Sheep and Goat Producers Association together with various public entities including MCCAA in order to grant our country this recognition. He also thanked the dozens of Maltese and Gozitan farmers who work every day to produce quality products.
He added that this will certainly continue to increase the invaluable value of the work they do every day, because their product will now be given the appropriate status by the countries of the European Union.
Minister Refalo also referred to the ongoing process so that in the coming months, we will see the same process this time with regard to mazzit. This commitment should lead to this local product, like sheep’s cheese, not only remaining part of the Maltese culinary identity, but also being recognized with the rest of the other traditional European products.
Photo: MAFA
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