Paris, Mar. 27 - Two leading French cheese makers are giving up a prestigious food label and a centuries-old recipe for making pungent Camembert cheese, angering others in the industry who fear the end of a French gastronomic tradition.
Camembert was created during the French Revolution in the 18th Century by a farmer from Normandy in northwestern France and is traditionally made with raw milk.
But the two producers who control between 80 and 90 percent of the market for Camembert made with raw milk say there is evidence the raw milk can contain bacteria that make people ill.
"We decided the risk of using raw milk was too high for us given the quantities we produce and our position in the market," said Luc Morelon, a spokesman for Lactalis, a family-run group based in Normandy.
Lactalis has a presence in 140 countries and distributed 760,000 metric tons of cheese in 2005.
Lactalis and another firm, Isigny-Sainte-Mere, want to move to what they say are new and safer production techniques.
But they are facing fierce opposition from traditionalists who dispute the health risk, say the cheese will taste different and argue the change is purely for commercial reasons.
Cheeses that are made according to the traditional rules are allowed to carry the coveted Appellation d'Origine Controlee label, a mark of distinction that protects the cherished French idea of "terroir" or regional produce.
It was first awarded to the smelly blue-veined roquefort cheese in 1925 and aims to preserve old traditions and shield French gastronomic heritage from competition.
Lactalis and Isigny-Sainte-MerThey have decided to give up the AOC label on some Camembert -- they hope temporarily -- so that they can use new production methods.
"We want an evolution so we can use a different technique," said Claude Granjon, the director of Isigny-Sainte-Mere which is owned by local farmers. "As of April 1 the label will not say AOC and it will not have raw milk on it."
Isigny-Sainte-Mere wants to use microfiltration to get rid of germs, while Lactalis wants to be able to heat the milk.
NO MERCEDES
Both companies have asked the body which enforces the AOC rules, the Institut National des Appellatiouns d'Origine (INAO) to allow a rule change. So far, the answer has been no.
"All of the producers have to be in agreement on a precise reqest and it cannot be at the demand of a single company or two," said an INAO official who did not want to be named.
"The rules do not exist to work in the favor of the companies who have more money ... We will only intervene when all of the players are in agreement."
And an agreement with the other producers looks unlikely.
"I absolutely disagree with changing the rules on raw milk," said Bertrand Gillot, the owner of Reaux, a small dairy firm.
"We are trying to keep the traditional values alive."
Purists argue Camembert made without raw milk just does not taste the same.
"It's like talking about a car and comparing a Renault Logan and a Mercedes. They're different things, but they are still cars, they can still transport you and drive," Gillot said.
He says Isigny-Saint-Mere and Lactalis are making the change for purely commercial reasons, to win over new consumers who have been afraid of eating products made of raw milk.
Morelon and Granjon say they are motivated by health and safety concerns, but they admit the move could bring some additional commercial benefit.
"It could allow us to send some more products to Anglo-Saxon countries for example," said Morelon. "It could give us an opening to some new consumers."