Agriculture Minister Maria Panayiotou said on Tuesday that the authorities plan to further tighten the penalties for those who do not comply with the specifications of halloumi cheese with protected designation of origin (PDO).

Speaking before the parliamentary committee on agriculture Panayiotou said that she is not satisfied with the existing legislation, as "the tools do not exist" to be able to act as a deterrent in cases of non-compliance with PDO specifications.

She further said that she is in cooperation with the Commissioner of Legislation for extra fines and penalties and expressed the hope that by the end of the year they will be able to draw up the first text for the legal and technical review.

Agriculture Minister also acknowledged that there is a very serious problem outside Cyprus as regards the PDO halloumi cheese and added that for this reason the authorities have used the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) and for 2024 have submitted complaints to more than 12 European countries.

Panayiotou said that there were positive results, adding that there were cases where halloumi cheese was taken off the shelves.

The Minister said that the non-compliant products that do not meet the specifications have been seized and explained that names are not being released as it is not a matter of public health but non-compliance with the quota. She also told the parliamentarians that an internal committee was set up at the Ministry to coordinate all the departments and services involved.

MPs raised the subject of tight controls and in particular the issue of the production of halloumi cheese in the Turkish-occupied areas of Cyprus.