Publication of an application for registration of a name pursuant to Article 50(2)(a) of Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council on quality schemes for agricultural products and foodstuffs

(2023/C 290/07)

This publication confers the right to oppose the application pursuant to Article 51 of Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council (1) within three months from the date of this publication.

SINGLE DOCUMENT

‘Χαλίτζια Τηλλυρίας / Halitzia Tillirias’

EU No: PGI-CY-02872

Submitted on 21.10.2022

1.   Name(s) [of PDO or PGI]

‘Χαλίτζια Τηλλυρίας / Halitzia Tillirias’

2.   Member State or Third Country

Cyprus

3.   Description of the agricultural product or foodstuff

3.1.   Type of product

Class 1.3. Cheeses

3.2.   Description of the product to which the name in (1) applies

‘Χαλίτζια Τηλλυρίας / Halitzia Tillirias’ is a soft to semi-hard white cheese made from heat-treated fresh goat’s milk, rennet (other than pig rennet) and salt.

‘Χαλίτζια Τηλλυρίας / Halitzia Tillirias’ is ripened in salted whey for at least forty (40) days from the time of production before it is ready to eat. ‘Χαλίτζια Τηλλυρίας / Halitzia Tillirias’ is placed on the market in transparent packaging, with each package containing many pieces immersed in salted whey. The pieces are irregular in shape and each piece weighs between 20 g and 80 g approximately.

Chemical characteristics

Fat in dry matter: at least 43 %

Moisture content: no more than 56 %

Salt: no more than 4,5 %

Organoleptic characteristics

‘Χαλίτζια Τηλλυρίας / Halitzia Tillirias’ has a soft to semi-hard and quite crumbly texture with characteristic holes of varying size and shape. It has a tart, fresh taste, with a lemony and slightly salty smell.

3.3.   Feed (for products of animal origin only) and raw materials (for processed products only)

—

3.4.   Specific steps in production that must take place in the identified geographical area

All the steps in production from the delivery of the milk to the ripening of the cheese take place in the defined geographical area.

3.5.   Specific rules concerning slicing, grating, packaging, etc. of the product the registered name refers to

Χαλίτζια Τηλλυρίας / Halitzia Tillirias’ is packaged in transparent packaging, with many pieces in each package.

In order for ‘Χαλίτζια Τηλλυρίας / Halitzia Tillirias’ to retain its irregular shape and crumbly texture it needs to be packaged within the defined area, as transport and packaging outside the area might increase the risk of these specific characteristics being altered. Packaging within the defined area also ensures better traceability.

3.6.   Specific rules concerning labelling of the product the registered name refers to

—

4.   Concise definition of the geographical area

The defined geographical area is demarcated by the administrative boundaries of the communities of Kato Pyrgos Tillirias, Pigenia, Pachyammos, Pano Pyrgos Tillirias and Mosfili. These communities are located in Tilliria, Cyprus.

5.   Link with the geographical area

The grounds for applying to register the name ‘Χαλίτζια Τηλλυρίας / Halitzia Tillirias’ PGI are the product’s physical and organoleptic characteristics, which are mainly the result of the production process and the expertise developed by the producers in the defined area. Thanks to these specific characteristics, especially its shape, the product has a reputation closely linking it with the defined production area.

With their characteristic shape, pure white colour and irregular holes on the inside that give them a rough appearance, like stones worn smooth by the action of seawater, the chunks of ‘Χαλίτζια Τηλλυρίας / Halitzia Tillirias’ resemble the large white pebbles found by the sea. These specific characteristics have given the product its name and a plural noun is used because when the chunks of cheese are packed together they resemble beach pebbles even more closely.

Together, the techniques listed below help determine the physical and organoleptic characteristics of ‘Χαλίτζια Τηλλυρίας / Halitzia Tillirias’ described above, namely the white colour and the pebble-like shape with irregular holes, and a soft to semi-hard texture.

(a)	The exclusive use of goat’s milk, which makes the cheese whiter than other cheeses containing different types of milk in a higher proportion.

(b)

Cutting the curds into rounds and then into smaller pieces, which are placed in shallow containers and left to rest in salted whey for 48 hours. When the pieces of curd are placed in the containers, care is taken to ensure that they are not packed too tightly, which would alter their shape. This whole process is important because the chunks of curd absorb the salted whey and swell, and this is how ‘Χαλίτζια Τηλλυρίας / Halitzia Tillirias’ acquires its pebbly shape.

(c)	Transferring the curds to a ‘talari’ [type of basket], shaking carefully and pressing lightly, results in the mechanical formation of holes inside the curd and, by extension, in the final product.

(d)	Ripening in salted whey, during which time microbiological processes take place that help determine the product’s irregular rounded shape and rough surface, reminiscent of pebbles worn smooth by seawater.

(e)	The natural process of proteolysis, which is important in the ripening of white cheeses in salted whey and helps give them a soft to semi-hard texture.

The characteristics of ‘Χαλίτζια Τηλλυρίας / Halitzia Tillirias’, its resemblance to pebbles on the beach and its link with the defined geographical area have also been described in recent scientific research which states that ‘Halitzia is a traditional white-brined cheese manufactured in the remote peninsula of Tilliria in Northwest Cyprus from goat’s milk in small quantities at farm level’ and ‘The cheese’s name is derived from its shape that reminds one of a small white stone or pebble’ (Photis Papademas et al. (2019), Conventional and omics approaches shed light on Halitzia cheese, a long-forgotten white-brined cheese from Cyprus, International Dairy Journal 98 p. 72-83).

The art of making ‘Χαλίτζια Τηλλυρίας / Halitzia Tillirias’ was most probably passed on to the area’s inhabitants by conquering peoples towards the end of the 16th century. Although production of ‘Χαλίτζια Τηλλυρίας / Halitzia Tillirias’ was mainly limited to the defined area, in recent years the product has become popular all over the island.

Expertise in producing ‘Χαλίτζια Τηλλυρίας / Halitzia Tillirias’ has been handed down from one generation to the next, and to this day it is produced in small household industries or in the homes of the inhabitants of Tilliria. ‘Χαλίτζια Τηλλυρίας / Halitzia Tillirias’ has been the subject of much recent attention in the press and online. The name ‘Χαλίτζια Τηλλυρίας / Halitzia Tillirias’ can also be found in dictionaries of Cypriot dialect and in publications promoting Cypriot food, such as the Gastronomical Map of Cyprus. Bibliographical data indicate that the product was traditionally made from a mixture of goat’s and sheep’s milk, but in recent years and especially in the Tilliria area, the use of goat’s milk alone has become established practice.

Since 2016, the Fig and Halitzi festival has become a tradition in the Tilliria area, while at the Cyprus Eating Awards 2020 ‘Χαλίτζια Τηλλυρίας / Halitzia Tillirias’ was crowned Cypriot product of the year. In addition, ‘Χαλίτζια Τηλλυρίας / Halitzia Tillirias’ is among the products that have been awarded the ‘Taste Cyprus Delightful Journeys’ quality label and the ‘Cyprus breakfast’ label, and it also features on Cypriot restaurant menus.

Publication reference of the specification

http://www.moa.gov.cy/moa/da/da.nsf/All/82B33F7D83ABF5A8C225879C00346BA5?OpenDocument

---

(1)  OJ L 343, 14.12.2012, p. 1.