The faithful of Lyon's bouchons and French gastronomy had to jump to the ceiling when they heard the news.
For the first time in September, sales of mozzarella exceeded those of good old Camembert, until then the most widely consumed soft cheese in France, according to Le Figaro.
Information that did not fail to make Internet users react.
“From the beginning of the year until September 11, we sold 29,230 tonnes of camemberts in France against 33,170 tonnes of mozzarella”, specifies daily, Fabrice Collier, president of the Norman Union of Camemberts Manufacturers (SNFC).
Slight advantage therefore for the creamy Italian against the fragrant French.
A game lost in advance?
For the manufacturer, these unpublished figures reflect a change in consumption habits in France: "The first is more of a plate cheese, while the second is a cooking cheese". Gone are the traditional times reserved for the treasures of French gastronomy between meal and dessert? Without going that far, Le Figaro praises the merits of mozzarella, "accommodating itself in many easy-to-prepare and trendy dishes". A success in any case confirmed by the figures. Sales of mozzarella are experiencing annual growth of 5%, according to the president of the SNFC.
Anyway, nothing can stop the inexorable decline in Camembert success.
For Fabrice Collier, it could also be explained by "the prohibition of any reference to Normandy for pasteurized camemberts".
In the 1980s, France produced 180,000 tonnes of soft cheese, part of which was exported, ie twice as much as today, recalls the SNFC.
"We are particularly worried about the future of the industry," Fabrice Collier books.
They are not the only ones.