§ Miss McIntoshTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what representations she has received concerning the redesignation of feta cheeses in the draft directive proposed by the European Commission designating feta as a protected food name; and if she will intervene to prevent the Commission unilaterally adopting such a directive in the event of no qualified majority being achieved. [75647]
§ Mr. MorleyThe Department has received a number of representations concerning the application by Greece to register "feta" as a protected food name. Throughout all the discussions on this issue (at official and Ministerial level), the UK has opposed the Greek application on the grounds that we believed that the name "feta" had become a generic and so not eligible for protection. The majority of Member States were in favour of registration but the required qualified majority was not reached either in the Regulatory312W Committee or subsequently in the Agriculture Council. However, because the Council was unable to act by qualified majority the Commission was able (under the terms of the original Regulation) to adopt the proposal. Feta was registered as a protected food name on 15 October.
I am conscious of the effect that feta's registration as a protected food name will have on UK producers. Officials have therefore written to these producers to see whether they might be eligible to benefit from a transition period within which the name "feta" could continue to be used.