Quality Schemes and Geographical Indicators in the Cheese Agribusiness and the Case of the Cypriot Traditional Cheese Halloumi

The chapter first discusses the fundamentals of designation of origin and geographical indication-related labels in dairy agricultural products, and specifically cheese. The rationale behind the development of these labels, and the prospective benefits are reviewed. The benefits and challenges of implementing cheese-related GI on the consumers, and the local communities where these cheeses are made are then elaborated. A comparison is conducted regarding the production of GI cheese by large and small dairies, which highlights the challenges for small and artisanal dairies. Artificial intelligence as an innovative way of validating the compliance of a cheese with certain authenticity standards and assess the accuracy of the application of the labels is also presented. Lastly, the evolution of these labels in the case of the Cypriot traditional Halloumi cheese is discussed.