Production and economy of "Camembert de Normandie"

Conditions of manufacture In 2006, the 10 cheesemakers were supplied by 1400 milk producers and produced about 13000 tons of "Camembert de Normandie".

Manufacturing The "Camembert de Normandie" is made of raw milk which is never heated to a temperature superior to 37°. Its straining is spontaneous. It is ladle moulded, in a discontinuous way, (generally 5 fillings), which confers to the cheese its creaminess. It is salted exclusively with dry salt. 2,2 litres of milk are necessary to produce one camembert and the time necessary for obtaining a fully ripened cheese is 30 to 35 days.

To see the manufacturing process diagram, click here.

Control of quality
As for all kinds of cheeses produced under AOC label, the production of "Camembert de Normandie" is regularly submitted to analytical controls.
Each month, the cheeses are tested by a college of experts and noted on various criteria, such as their form, aspect, body and flavour.
After three notifications, the Commission "Agrément Produit" has the capacity to cancel the right to use the label for a cheesemaker whose products do not comply with the label.
Therefore, the consumer is always sure to have a high quality authentic product.


Control of the manufacturing conditions:
Visits to the cheesemakers workshops are conducted by another Commission "Conditions de Production" in order to control and guarantee the strict respect of the rules by the AOC Camembert manufacturers.

This Commission controls among other things the use of pure raw milk, its origin, and the ladle moulding process.

In 2006, the 10 cheesemakers working in Normandy :

- process the milk produced by 1200 producers, which represents about 8 % of the total milk from Normandy.

- produce each year about 14 000 tons of "Camembert de Normandie".

- employ 500 persons in mainly rural areas (10 % of the workers of the Norman milk industry).

- represent through their production 7 % of the total of all AOC French cheeses.

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