A twelve-year war over the soul (and content) of Normandy’s prized Camembert cheese has seemingly ended with a narrow victory for traditionalists who fought to block changes to cheeses that bear the ‘AOP Normandy Camembert’ mark.
The label requires that the cheese be made only from unpasteurized milk from grass-fed Normandy cows. Industrial producers, with an eye on the U.S. market that does not allow import of unpasteurized products, wanted that part of the rules waived, and also to use milk from Holstein cows which produce much more milk than the Normande variety.
A compromise was worked out two years ago, a proposal that would allow the industrial producers to use pasteurized milk, but would require them to stick to milk from grass-fed cows. But that agreement was made subject to approval by the association of producers, which last week voted it down by a narrow margin.
Backers of the compromise argued that it wouldn’t change the cheese too much, and that it would boost dairy production in western France, where it has been declining. Opponents argued that the change would be fundamental, and that consumers would be confused by two different cheeses bearing the same AOP descriptor.
