Feta is a traditional Greek cheese, originally produced using sheeps milk. But thhas been produced in many countries around the world, using a range of different milks. In South Africa, cows' milk is the most widely used for commercially available feta.


Feta is an example of what is known as 'fresh' cheese. In this context, 'fresh' means that it is ready to be enjoyed as soon as it is produced, and does not require maturing or ageing.

• Milk is received at the cheesery and is pasteurised. It is then warmed to about 35 degrees centigrade and a starter culture is added, followed by rennet. The rennet causes the solid curd in the milk to join together and separate from the watery whey.
• This curd is cut into small pieces and gently stirred to allow more whey to be released. The curd is drained and placed into a mould which is turned regularly, allowing the remaining whey to drain off and the curd to form together in the shape of the mould.
• These large pieces are then soaked in a salty, brine solution which both adds flavour to the feta as well as stopping the action of the bacteria.
• After about 24 hours the large feta blocks are removed and the brine is able to be re-used, as it is not added to the packaging.
• The large blocks of feta are cut into smaller pieces and packaged.

After we set up this little group, one of our friends was in London and out of interest had a look at the cheese packaging in some of the major supermarkets. These shops set the tone for much of the retail strategy in South Africa. Generally, local packaging is on par, except when it comes to feta! There was not a tub in sight! This is what the Feta display in one of the biggest retailers looked like. And it was the same in the others too.

Skin packaging is the modern way to merchandise feta and it is the method used in most progressive and established cheese markets internationally. It eliminates the need for brine to be included in the packaging. This means no more unfortunate leaks and spills in the car on the way home from the supermarket; no more slimey chunks of feta floating in murky tubs in the fridge.

Old fashioned tubs take up twice as much space in your fridge, as well as in your bin and eventually in our landfills. As the cheese takes up more space, it is more expensive to transport. The brine in the tubs also means double the weight during its journey. These two factors have an impact on the overall carbon footprint of the product.