Say cheese: The secrets of real French 'fromage'

Hello and welcome to France In Focus, an entire edition devoted to one of the country's greatest achievements, cheese. We're in the Brie region just outside Paris, where Jacques Courchaud makes the famous product of the same name. Thanks for joining us Jacques, tell us a little bit more about what you do here on the farm. Well you're here at the 30 acre farm owned by Benjamin de Rothschild, whose father Edmund de Rothschild wished to revive the protected designation of origin at the beginning of the 1990s, when he noticed that all the farmhouses producing Brie had disappeared. And your cheeses carry the AOP label, what does that mean? Protected designation of origin is the European version of the controlled designation of origin in France and dates back some years now. Specifically, it defines a geographical zone where you find the kind of traditional cheesemakers in question, with a set of production requirements. This essentially covers the method of cheese production, most importantly the use of unpasteurized milk and also the conditions of the milk production. So it includes information about the diet and living conditions of the cows Thanks very much Jacques. Well from Brie to Camembert, another of France's star cheeses, it's one of the biggest sellers, but can consumers be sure they're getting the real deal? It's among the most consumed cheeses in France, but just over one percent of Camembert is the real deal. What does an authentic label look like? The AOP or protected designation of origin guarantees the best cheese with the name Camembert from Normandy, but often packaging indicates the cheese is made in the region. So what's the difference? For me it's the same thing. Made in Normandy is more authentic than just from Normandy. It's this kind of thinking that's incorrect. The truly real Camembert is from Normandy, confusion that this cheese producer doesn't like. To meet AOP standards, there are certain criteria that need to be respected. First, the livestock. At least half need to be from the Normandy breed of cattle. Here at Philippe Messier's, all his cows fit the criteria. The breed is very important for Camembert from Normandy. The richness of the protein, and this protein is very particular. It's one of the particularities of the breed and it's one of the best for making cheese. The next criteria, the land. The milk like the cheese needs to be made in certain parts of the region of Normandy. The cows need to spend six months of the year outside. Here the cattle roams free and grazes nine months a year. It's a diet that allows the cows to produce milk that's rich and is transformed into cheese without heating or pasteurization in order to provide the best taste. We don't have any health issues or pathogenic bacteria in our cheese. You've seen the cows are very clean. It's just good regional practices and that allows you to make cheese with untreated milk. To compare a Camembert from Normandy made with unpasteurized milk with one made in Normandy with pasteurized milk, we headed to an industrial producer. In this company, two variations of the cheese are made. On the left are machines which slice the cheese. On the right, everything is done manually to shape the end product which takes a lot more time. Each spoonful is spaced out over 40 to 50 minutes depending on the richness of the cheese. We'll have a product that's alive, which is thick and which has beautiful authenticity. With practices that are markedly different, is there a difference in taste between all these products? We took three different types of cheese to a shop owner without specifying their origins. One industrial unpasteurized version and one Camembert made from pasteurized milk, as well as a Camembert which meets the protected designation of origin criteria. First, Camembert made with pasteurized milk. It's a product to eat. It's not just about pleasure. The second. Industrial cheese made with unpasteurized milk. There's no particular odor. It's not a bad product. The third. There's the look. And then of course there's the smell. And here we have a Camembert that tastes like Camembert. The price of Camembert varies from 1 euro 40 cents to over 5 euros. But only 1 in 13 variations of the cheese are the real deal. I'm joined now by Véronique Régis-Lerouge who is a journalist and author of a book on the AOP label. Thanks for joining us. In your book you say that the AOP label is being exploited by major multinationals. It's true that today we're seeing a monopoly type phenomenon. It of course exists throughout the industry and economy, but it's now affecting an area where we thought we'd be protected from this. And that's not the case. Today we see a lot of protected designation of origin labels or AOPs that are increasingly held, privatized in a sense, by multinationals. The largest in the world is Lactalis, a French group. Then there's Sodial, Trivala, Uriel, which are also huge. And so we wonder what the future of these AOPs is when they're held in this manner. Because they can't work in the same way. Out of the big name French cheeses, if you like, which ones have been the worst affected? The Camembert designation is today held predominantly by Lactalis. And the problem is that on the other side, there aren't enough small and medium businesses and operators to maintain any kind of competition, discussion, and democracy within the specification. So that's a problem. The Livaro, which is a big AOP from Normandy that's also heavily impacted, is 90% held by Lactalis as well. In the Auvergne region, we have the Cantal, the Fourme d'Ombert, the Fourme de Montbrison, all cheeses that are held by two conglomerates, Lactalis and Sodial. And on top of that, these are AOPs that can use pasteurized milk. So that doesn't help the quality. 35% of all Comtés are held by giant dairy producers, Sodial and Lactalis. But you also have thousands of cheese producers who work, I would say, relatively harmoniously. So it's true that the Comté is a good example, but there are plenty of others that are in bad shape as well. What can small producers do to fight back? How can producers fight this phenomenon? The problem is producers that put up a good fight, for example Beaufort. They're saying, we don't want industrial goods, we're going to kick them out because we fought for what we have. So from the start, they were anti-industrial, anti-multinational. But that's not the case for many farmers. And the problem is that when you have in front of you these goliaths that dominate the dairy sector, the marketing networks, access to refiners, which is where you sell cheese, access to big retailers, they control everything. So it's very complicated for farmers. Is it fair to say that French cheese is not as good as it used to be? It's not exactly that French cheese is not as good. It's that the legend surrounding it remains strong. So now we need to look at what's on our plates. The designation of origin offers very good cheese, but also very bad. And that needs to be said. It needs to be said because consumers must first themselves look at the labels and pick raw milk AOPs to start with. Then also look at the brands. Because multinationals often hide behind the brands. The purpose of industrial cheese is to produce a large volume, period. AOPs were never their objective. Véronique Richelieu-Rouge, thanks for joining us. General de Gaulle once famously complained about the difficulties of governing a country with 246 different types of cheese. In fact, France is home to over 1,200 and they're at the centre of a major industry. Let's take a look at the facts and figures. These cheeses may smell, but they certainly sell. With 640,000 tonnes sent abroad each year, that's 20 kilos a second, France is the largest exporter of cheese in value. Second behind Germany in quantity. The industry brings in 3 billion euros, generating more than any other dairy product. At 80%, their main destination is Europe. This, after the bloc harmonised its regulatory standards. French cheeses still do cross the oceans. Japan and the US are the biggest export markets. They embrace the PDO-labelled products, serving them in restaurants and luxury cheese shops. Because of shipment costs and restrictions associated with raw milk, however, some countries prefer to make their own cheese. And no international laws protects the French product. That's why we can find Camembert in Sweden, Tom in Canada and Gruyère in New Zealand. Next, a solution for those whose dietary choices mean that traditional cheese is off the menu. As eating habits change, growing numbers of consumers in France are turning to vegan cheese, or as it's known locally, Vromage. Camembert, Brie, Roquefort, the list goes on and on and on. France loves its cheese, and so does Venezuelan-born Marie Carmen, even after giving up dairy three years ago. My husband and I were looking for artisanal and gourmet products because we're both foodies. We'd just become vegans and we absolutely wanted the same quality products we used to eat. After making vegan cheese for themselves and specialty stores for months, the pair opened the first vegan dairy in Paris in December 2016. Today, J&J produces eight types of fromage with cashew nuts or almond milk as a base. The grains are soaked to extract moisture before they're blended together. That paste is then left to ferment before the ultimate and most important step, the aging, which could take five to 15 days. It's definitely very hard work. You have to keep an eye on it constantly to create the texture, the taste, the smells, to determine the sell-by date, the flavour most people will like. So it's truly intuitive work. The finished products are sold in stores and on-site, a niche market that caters to tourists and Parisians alike. But what about mainstream consumers? Can Fauci's pass the taste test? No, thank you, really. It's good. I like it. Very refined. It's well seasoned. This is cheese. A little spicy. Final notes are a little gritty. I don't usually eat cheese but that was quite good. And creamy. I can't stand cheese and this is not bad at all. Call it fromage, fromage or just vegan cheese, it may not be a staple in France but it's certainly worth the bite. And for those looking for something a little closer to the real thing, a new line that looks, smells and tastes even more like fromage will be available soon. And that's it for this edition of France In Focus. Thanks ever so much for watching and do join us again soon.