“In 30 years, more than 50 have been struck off the menus as the proportion of industrial cheeses continues to grow while cheeses made from unpasteurised milk only represent seven percent of our consumption,” said Veronique Richez-Lerouge.

She is the president of an association formed to protect France’s unique cheeses, the focus of Friday’s fourth national cheese day.

“The Mont-d’Or galette, which had been produced for some 400 years, disappeared this summer following the death of the last producer who knew the secret of how to make it,” she said.

Guy Martin, a Michelin three-star chef, serves up in the Grand Vefour in Paris another threatened variety, Termignon blue, which is made in southern Maurienne close to the Italian border.

For national cheese day, the association wants to mobilise the French to confront this “looming disaster” which has been triggered for different reasons.

“Tastes are becoming more uniform, European standards are more and more draconian, more than half of the cheeses which receive a quality rating are made from pasteurised milk, large stores no longer have cheese-cutting counters, and outbreaks of listeria have been blamed on unpasteurised milk, even though all products such as pasteurised milk, fish and meat are affected by bacteria,” Richez-Lerouge said.

Saving the cheeses…

It was the job of the country’s leaders to help small producers. ”We have to be vigilant to ensure that our representatives at the European Union are banging their fists on the table.

“You can’t expect small producers to have the same standards as a big cheese manufacturers. We have to find a proper compromise,” said Martin, who has published a book “Cuisiner les fromages”  (Cooking with cheese).

But others remained optimistic for the future.

Cheese-maker Philippe Olivier, based in northern Boulogne-sur-mer, said: “For the past two to three years, young people have been moving here to save these cheeses, young farmers of 30 with ethics, who produce while respecting the environment, who make a lifestyle choice by choosing to become producers.

“And at the same time, there have never been so many young people registered at the cheese school in Paris,” he added.

“Fifteen years ago, there were only two producers of Bergues left, close to Dunkirk -- this poor person’s cheese which the Dunkirk sailors would take on board for their expeditions to the New World.

“Thanks to our mobilisation, there are eight producers today and seven others are training. I sell Bergues in some 30 cheese-shops in France as well as abroad,” he added.

Lafayette Gourmet, the food department at one of Paris’ biggest stores, has also edited for the first time a guide to France’s cheese, aimed at providing practical as well as cultural help to the often bewildering range confronting shoppers.

“We have to explain that cheese is a wonderful product, and not something harmful. We have to defend French heritage and safeguard those products with real taste,” said Sylvain Gaudu, head of Lafayette Gourmet.

He said the store’s cheese counter, which has some 150 kinds made with unpasteurised milk, was the most visited in the shop.

Hundreds of cheese-makers will be taking part in the national cheese day, organising demonstrations and tastings.

Photo courtesy: lefsebakery.com