Normandy AOP Camemberts will keep their wooden boxes!

Within weeks, the rumor had spread throughout all layers of the cheese industry. The iconic wooden boxes that accompany some of our cheeses, particularly Camembert, will disappear, he said, a move condemned by the European Union and its desire to eliminate all non-recyclable packaging by 2030.

A prospect that very quickly provoked a reaction from industry professionals who, like Emily Flechard, president of the Gillot family cheese factory in Saint-Hilaire-de-Brousse (Orne), assure that wooden packaging is “a guarantee of good quality.” the preservation of cheeses and, above all, is closely linked to tradition.” In other words: Camembert’s image throughout the world is also linked to these wooden boxes.

Will everything return to normal? One thing is for sure: the rumor was unfounded, at least not entirely. Of course, there is talk of introducing a European regulation banning non-recyclable food packaging to limit its environmental impact. But, as Sébastien Breton, secretary general of the National Council for Appellations of Origin of Dairy Products (Cnaol), explains, “the text now clearly provides that products under a Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) and Protected Designation of Origin (AOP) are exempt from this ban. Therefore they must take advantage of a kind of liberation.

Did the “President” threaten?

Therefore, boxes of “real” Camembert Normandy AOP, which, among other things, must be made from raw milk and molded with a ladle, are a priori preserved! But on the other hand, this is not achieved by the packaging boxes of industrial cheeses, starting with camemberts made from pasteurized milk, which are often distinguished by artisanal producers who have long demanded that consumers be provided with a clear means of distinguishing between them. Perhaps that time has come. Indeed, if in the long term wooden boxes are allowed only for AOP cheeses, then the industrial camemberts most represented on the market, including the famous “President” with pasteurized milk, will lose the right to use this traditional packaging. From this we can assume that someone would be interested in spreading rumors…