Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades welcomed the move as "a milestone day for halloumi/hellim and our country".
"A shield of protection is now in place, significant prospects for increasing exports of our national product to the benefit of all Cypriot producers, Greek and Turkish," the leader of the mainly Greek south tweeted on Tuesday.
Cyprus has been divided since Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third in 1974 in reaction to a Greek-engineered coup.
But the decision, which defines the content of the cheese as 51 per cent goat or sheep's milk, making it more expensive, has left some unhappy.
"This is very bad for north and south producers," Turkish Cypriot hellim factory owner Mahmut Erden told AFP.