Big cheeses take a bite out of Camembert

In a victory for big cheesemakers and a defeat for small producers in Normandy, new rules are coming to allow more cheeses to be labeled AOP Normandy Camembert.

For the small producers, who have worked under stringent rules requiring raw unpasteurized milk, at least 50% from Normandy cows, it raises concerns over whether they can survive when the new rules allow pasteurized milk and set the bar at 30% Normandy milk. 

The changes will allow large industrial producers to label their cheese with the prized AOP Normandy Camembert label, and because of the pasteurized milk, to export it more readily; the U.S. doesn't allow raw milk cheeses to be imported. The big companies are already making Camembert; they label it as Made In Normandy, but not AOP.

The new rules will be in effect by 2021.