Athienou bread and loukoumi expected to win EU protected status

Athienou bread and loukoumi are expected to receive European protected geographical indication status within the next year, Agriculture Minister Christos Senekis said on Sunday. The status ties a product’s name to its place of origin and prevents producers elsewhere using it. Senekis said the move is meant to strengthen the standing of Cypriot products in domestic and overseas markets and to ease the financial burden on producers. He said a national “Cyprus Brand” is in its final stage of completion, which is designed to improve recognition of Cypriot products. Under the application, Athienou bread is a round loaf made from wheat flour, at least 90 per cent of it being durum wheat, with water, salt and either yeast or sourdough. Every stage from receiving the ingredients to baking must take place within the boundaries of Athienou municipality, in areas under the effective control of the Republic, though cutting and packaging may be done elsewhere. The application bases the bread’s link with the town on a reputation built over more than 100 years. In the 1970s the law capped a loaf at one kilogramme, which made the larger Athienou bread illegal for a period. Market inspectors confiscated loaves, and the dispute with local bakers was reported in the press at the time. Athienou loukoumi is an almond-filled wedding sweet made with semolina, butter and sugar and covered in icing sugar, resembling the kourabiedes usually served at Christmas. It was added to the national intangible cultural heritage list in 2019 after the municipality proposed it, becoming the fourth element of Athienou culture to be listed.