Caveat emptor: real Camembert is only made from raw milk!

One of Normandy’s trademarks and the inspiration behind Dali’s famous The Persistence of Memory, Camembert had a near escape from being sacrificed to cost reduction and mass production. Traditionally produced on small farms from unpasteurised milk of free-range cows, it gains its unique flavour from a variety of local terroirs. It would have stayed a local delicacy but for the advent of railways, when Napoleon III attending the opening of the Paris-Granville line discovers Camembert for the Parisian gourmet table. From a regional curiosity camembert became one of France’s cultural symbols. In recent times however it has fallen victim to its own popularity. The demands for larger production volumes has made manufacturing shift to factories. Economy of scale requires the streamlining of the costs. Farm-raised cows are nowadays fed mechanically mixed fodder and the quality uniformity of milk is the overriding objective. Starting in the late 90s culinary purists and industrial rationalists have been battling over just how much can Camembert depart for the traditional recipe without losing its essence.













Last year things came to head when dairy giants Isigny and Lactalis, which comprise 80% of Camembert sales, demanded that the National Institute of Origin and Quality modify the regulations for their product. To qualify for AOC Camembert needs to be made from raw milk, but the rebel producers insisted that pasteurising or microfiltering milk would reduce the cheese’s susceptibility to potentially dangerous pathogens. The defenders of the terroir, ODC, reasoned that such a step would kill the “very essence of Camembert”. The Laboratory for scientific research of eggs and milk, stated that health risks are "statistically insignificant". Angered, the two producers threaten to renounce their AOC.

The stand-off finally ended on the 18th of September this year with the issue of the PM-signed decree that stipulates the obligatory use of raw milk for Camembert production. Generic camembert however, stays outside this regulation.

Now watch out for the magic words “Camembert de Normandie au lait cru moulé à la louche” on the packaging meaning that you are getting the real deal, not the mass production imitation.