I’ve often been called a cultural snob, primarily for my love of French food. Caring about taste and presentation is something I learned in France, from the French (and not from my parents in Missouri who cook what they call survival food). As Doug and I are traveling in France, we have picked up different kinds of cheeses. In our refrigerator right now there are two types of Camembert: the Monoprix brand that we picked up 10 days ago in Toulouse, and the Reflets de France brand (produced by Laiterie St Hilaire de Briouze) that we bought about 5 days ago in our small village’s supermarket.  In the store I pointed out to Doug that this one was made with lait cru – raw milk. I’m not a purist when it comes to French cheeses, and neither is Doug, but we thought it might be interesting to try something “authentic.”

Now every time we open the fridge it stinks so bad from the lait cru cheese we want to pass out. But there is no question which cheese we are eating faster (and not just to get the stink out): the Monoprix pasteurized cheese is resting in the back of the fridge while we eat up the raw milk Camembert. (Incidentally, we’ve both been suffering from frequent trips to the bathroom and trying to figure out what we’ve eaten recently that would bring on such rumbling in our bowels and stinking up the bathroom nearly as much as the fridge.)

In yesterday’s news, two of France’s (and thus the world’s) top lait cru Camembert producers, Lactalis and Isigny-Sainte-Mère, announced that they are forgoing the status of “Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée” and switching to cheese made exclusively with heat-treated micro-filtered milk (not quite pasteurized but still an affront to purists).

Lactilis’ spokesperson, Luc Morelon said that although they recognize the importance of Camembert traditions, they’re making the change “[b]ecause consumer safety is paramount, and we cannot guarantee it 100 per cent. We cannot accept the risk of seeing our historic brands disappearing because of an accident in production." In response to his critics Morelon added, “I don’t want to risk sending any more children to hospital. It’s as simple as that." Others believe that Lactilis simply cannot produce the quantities they want and keep using raw milk. According to the Telegraph, Lactilis’ and Isigny’s decision to opt out has now put pressure on the AOC to accept pasteurized milk. It all boils down to business.

While the French worry about the future of Camembert and other cheeses made from raw milk, I applaud the company for understanding that an unsafe cheese can harm the culture of Camembert more than using heated milk might.

I like having a choice to buy raw milk or processed cheese as I wish, but I understand the risks involved. I also still eat sushi and would likely still dip my finger in raw cake-batter or cookie dough. But when producers are responsible for the safety of thousands, if not millions, of consumers who do not know that what they’re eating might kill them, they need to assess the risks, take measures to prevent them, and in doing so, ensure a culture of safe food.