Can raw milk cheese and pasteurised milk cheese coexist? Unthinkable or never really considered?

Abstract

This article examines the contentious issue of the coexistence of cheese made from raw milk and cheese made from pasteurised milk in areas of protected designation of origin (PDOs). The French PDO system is held to be the benchmark of the international system of geographical indications (GIs). Drawing on the multi-level perspective framework of socio-technical transitions, we conceptualise PDO cheeses as a "niche" nested within a dominant regime that promotes pasteurisation as the standard technology to control pathogens in milk. Careful examination of statistical data and the specifications for PDO cheeses shows that raw milk is experiencing an upturn in domestic production, which we relate to the reinforcement of the regulatory frameworks governing protection of GIs. We investigate more fully the steady increase in raw milk use by studying two contrasting cases of PDO cheeses (Saint-Nectaire and Ossau-Iraty), in which the confrontation between technologies is internalised. Analysis of local innovation pathways highlights a series of key decisions that strengthen the position of raw milk from the farm to the marketplace, namely grass-feeding, limiting herd productivity, technology-specific identification marks, and redistribution of decision-making power among stakeholders. Regulatory mechanisms that counterbalance the pressures of the regime by strategic management of the "terroir" niche are identified and discussed. We argue that shifting the focus from niche/regime interaction towards the internal dynamics of niches sheds light on the conditions of a coexistence of apparently antagonistic models of production in agri-food networks.

Origin food schemes and the paradox of reducing diversity to defend it

“…For Lactalis, Ossau-Iraty cheese represents one of the many specialty or ordinary cheeses produced, whereas for on-farm producers Ossau-Iraty, especially the mountain production, represents the core business and professional identity fulcrum. This heterogeneity resulted in on-farm producers' decennial struggle to (re)negotiate the initial specifications judged as lax (De Sainte Marie et al 2020). This confirms Dentoni et al (2013) who pointed out that the restrictiveness of the Parma ham GI specifications is weakened by the heterogeneity of the Consorzio, namely members' characteristics, assets, and strategies.…”

“…This heterogeneity resulted in on‐farm producers’ decennial struggle to (re)negotiate the initial specifications judged as lax (De Sainte Marie et al . 2020). This confirms Dentoni et al .…”

Protecting Food Cultural Biodiversity: From Theory to Practice. Challenging the Geographical Indications and the Slow Food Models

“…Shepherds in opposition to the Ossau-Iraty GI considered it inadequate for valuing the uniqueness of mountain pastured-based production, but nevertheless worked side by side with GI leaders who were pushing for an implementation of the GI specifications favoring on-farm production over industrial production. This experience paved the way for the EU recognition of Ossau-Iraty mountain production in 2018, which was differentiated on the market [85]. However, producers belonging to the Presidium and transforming exclusively ewe-milk into traditional 'tommes' may or may not adhere to the GI.…”

Resilience in Retrospective: The Trajectory of Agro-Pastoral Systems in the Centro Region of Portugal

“…The opposition between industrial dairy producers and farm producers is not a prerogative of Serra da Estrela DOP. In several French cheese DOP a similar debate is taking place [82]. Some of the most relevant opinions of participants regarding this topic are displayed in Table A3.…”