[3] Similar white brined cheeses are made traditionally in the Balkans, around the Black Sea, in West Asia, and more recently elsewhere.

[6][need quotation to verify] Since 2002, feta has been a Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) product within the European Union.

The EU PDO for feta requires a maximum moisture of 56%, a minimum fat content in dry matter of 43%, and a pH that usually ranges from 4.4 to 4.6.

In the mouth it is tangy, slightly salty, and mildly sour, with a spicy finish that recalls pepper and ginger, as well as a hint of sweetness.

[9][10][12] After the dry-salting of the cheese is complete, aging or maturation in brine (a 7% salt in water solution) takes several weeks at room temperature and a further minimum of 2 months in a refrigerated high-humidity environment—as before, either in wooden barrels or metal vessels,[10][12] depending on the producer (the more traditional barrel aging is said to impart a unique flavour).

[23] Origins aside, cheese produced from sheep-goat milk was a common food in ancient Greece and an integral component of later Greek gastronomy.

[17][18][23] The first unambiguous documentation of preserving cheese in brine appears in Cato the Elder's De Agri Cultura (2nd century BC), though the practice was surely much older.

[24] Feta cheese, specifically, is recorded by Psellos in the 11th century under the name prósphatos (Greek πρόσφατος 'recent, fresh'), and was produced by Cretans.

[25] In the late 15th century, an Italian visitor to Candia, Pietro Casola, describes the marketing of feta, as well as its storage in brine.

[13] Feta cheese, along with milk and sheep meat, is the principal source of income for shepherds in northwestern Greece.

[26] The Greek word féta (φέτα) comes from the Italian fetta 'slice', which in turn is derived from the Latin offa 'morsel, piece'.

[30] Greece first requested the registration of feta as a designation of origin in the EU in 1994, which was approved in 1996 by commission regulation (EC) No 1107/96[31] The decision was appealed to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) by Denmark, France and Germany, which annulled the decision as the Commission did not evaluate sufficiently whether or not Feta had become a generic term.

While this does not play a role for consumers in Greece, dairies lose out in sales abroad because they do not produce real "feta" and have to accept price reductions.

[33] The European Commission gave other nations five years to find a new name for their feta cheese or stop production.

[36][37][38][39] In other markets such as the United States, Australia, New Zealand and elsewhere, full generic usage of the term "feta" continues, and was one of several original name issues preventing the signing of an Australia–EU free trade deal.

[44] Feta, as a sheep dairy product, contains up to 1.9% conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), which is about 0.8% of its fat content.