‘Eat fromage for France’
● The French are being urged to eat more fromage in an act of patriotism, as makers of traditional cheese issue a plea due to plummeting sales during the pandemic.
Thousands of tons of Gallic appellation cheese may be thrown away because cheesemakers can no longer sell to restaurants, while shoppers have put the brakes on comfort food in favour of essential fare.
Notably, the French have lost their taste for buying traditional cheese à la coupe —at the counter — in supermarkets, preferring vacuum-packed fare. With open-air markets and canteens also shut, sales of appellation cheese are down as much as 60%.
Those producers who can, are freezing cheese while awaiting the end of confinement.
“From brie to Rocamadour as well as Munster or Reblochon, the situation is catastrophic for cheese producers in AOP [protected designation of origin] zones,” lamented Michel Lacoste, president of the national council of dairy appellations.
The cheese industry has even launched a campaign to encourage people to start buying, called “Fromagissons” (Let’s act for cheese).
It urges the French to do their bit with one “common aim”, namely: “To encourage the consumption of traditional cheeses.”
Meanwhile, the government has relaxed some regulations to help producers. Farmers are, for example, allowed to store their milk longer before making cheese. Financial compensation is also on offer for dairy farmers who voluntarily reduce their production.
Some regions have taken initiatives to save their distinctive cheeses.
In the northern Hauts-de-France region, the local authorities have promised to increase orders for maroilles — a strongsmelling rectangular cheese — in school canteens.