Cheese cows get less strict diet after drought

 

TT-AFP

Published 03.26

 

Cows in the greenery of the Cormet de Roselend mountain pass in the French Alps. Picture taken last summer. Photo: Mosa'ab Elshamy/AP/TT

France's rules on cheese making are admittedly strict. But this summer's drought has made a difference.

Now some cheesemakers are allowed to ease the cows' strict diet.

Milking, cheesemaking and aging must take place within the same geographical area - and the cows are only allowed to graze there. The requirements for French cheese producers to be able to quality label their cheeses, and give them certain specific names, are rigid.

But this year's heat waves have created problems. Normally lush pastures gape bare and dry.

In response, the government has issued an unusual exemption: producers of Abondance, Beaufort and Comté – hard cheeses from cows in the Alps and Jura mountains – are now allowed to supplement their animals’ diets with feed and grains from elsewhere. The exemption also applies to several other cheeses.

Around 95 percent of mainland France is estimated to have been affected by July’s drought.