It’s the news no cheese lover wants to hear: the world may be heading toward a feta shortage.
A virus sweeping through Greece’s goat and sheep populations has forced farmers to cull hundreds of thousands of animals.
Feta cheese is one of the nation’s main exports, but with a shortage of goat and sheep milk, production is set to fall – a development that’s nothing short of a Greek tragedy.
But when it comes to Aussies feeling the impact, there’s some relatively good news.
Our major supermarket chains intend to keep our Summer salads and avocado toast feta-filled.
Woolworths has told news.com.au that shelves will remain stocked.
“We know fetta cheeses are popular with our customers and we have a good supply across our stores, including a number of Australian-made products sourced locally,” a spokesperson said.
Aldi also reports to news.com.au, they’re expecting to see no impact on stock levels within their aisles.
Coles predicts similar.
“Coles is not expecting a shortage of feta cheese, as we have enough supply through Christmas and into the new year, including our delicious Australian-made alternatives,” a spokesperson told news.com.au.
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However, it’s important to note that Feta made outside of Greece is ‘feta-style’ cheese, as authentic products need to be produced within their country of origin.
The beloved delicacy has legal requirements for it to be classified as ‘feta’ within the European Union. The cheese must be made in specific regions of Greece from 70 per cent sheep’s milk, and the remainder of goat’s milk.
There’s no word yet on how authentic imports into Australia will be impacted, so a trip to the local Greek deli might be on the to-do list.
However, it’s anticipated that with milk becoming more difficult to source, prices could soar as authentic stock crumbles.
The ongoing outbreak of the diseases of goat pox and sheep pox is highly contagious and has spread to many parts of Greece after first emerging in 2014.
Almost half a million goats and sheep have already been culled.
The illness cannot be transmitted to humans.
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On TikTok, users are trying their best to come to terms with the news.
A Melbourne feta fan is among those who have taken to the app to air her concern.
“Oh no. As if 2025 couldn’t get any worse. Greece is facing a shortage of feta. Ah f**k,” Adelle Petropoulos said in the post.
“Genuine tears are coming out of my eyes, bro.”
“If there’s no feta in 2026, I don’t know what I’ll do!” another concerned user shared.
Meanwhile, someone dared to label it: “one of the greatest tragedies of 2025.”
TikTok singer Jake Schroeder shared his own devastation with an emotional ballad.
“There’s a shortage of feta cheese ‘cause all the goats are dead. I’ve been praying on my knees ‘cause it’s getting to my head,” he sings.
