The biggest producer of Camembert, The Lactalis group, is forced by the French consumers, to return to the original quality definition of the Normandian Camembert, the last camembert that just until March this year, was supposed to be made of raw milk. Lactalis is the number two milk processing company in the world, with over 30.000 employees (1).
Earlier this year they successfully lobbied within the Normandian AOC quality committee to accept their new technology consisting of moderate heating and "laboratory made” types of bacteria. Lactalis came up with this high tech solution because they found it too risky to sell raw milk cheese in supermarkets because of possible Listeria poisoning. Now the brand new factory has to close its doors because French consumers are not eating it (2).
Reducing substantially the varieties of bacteria and fungi’s in our food will ruin our immune system, especially the ones of our children. (for example one GMO type instead of 100's of local types in one cheese). This is the view of the famous Pasteur Institute (3) expressed in a movie made especially about raw cheeses in France “Ces fromages qu'on assassine! ” (These are the cheeses we kill!) and a radio programme on a conference about the beneficial effects of bacteria in food on the immune system. How many people died of Listeria in raw milk cheese? I have heard about one case that triggered the whole anti-raw milk movement in France. Probably there are a few more, but how many people in the future will have allergies (or die) because of a not properly functioning immune system? ? At the moment 25% of the French population suffer from some kind of allergy. Recent studies show, like was found in the Pasteur Institute, that raw milk (products) for children in cities are the one of the most efficient and practical means to build a good immune system! (4)
Luckily the French consumers got back their senses, and decided en masse not to buy the new product. Probably more because a typical produit regional was in danger than because of health reasons, but àla! The workers of the closed factory are said to be able to continue working in one of the other many factories of Lactalis. This news will certainly reinforce the Slow Food network in France who has been fighting hard for Lait Cru, and managed to gather 20.000 signatures for the European Union in order to raise awareness on this issue (5).
1) http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camembert_de_Normandie
2) www.lemonde.fr/archives/article/2008/09/27/lactalis
3) Documentary of Joël Santoni and Jean Charles Deniau with Périco Légasse and Erik Svensson. See: http://programmes.france3.fr/documentaires
4) Doctor Dominique Angèle Vuitton, Emeritus Professor in Immunology of the Université de Franche-Comté and Xavier Bertrand, Microbiologist in the “Service d’hygiène hospitalière et d’épidémiologie moléculaire" of the CHU in Besançon cited on the French radio: www.canalacademie.com/Fromages-au-lait-cru-amis-ou.html
5) www.slowfood.fr
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