Kalamata olives, Iberian ham, parmesan, Algarve lemon or Gouda… These traditional products represent the excellence of European gastronomy.
A culinary heritage, protected by European labels AOP (Protected Designation of Origin) or IGP (Protected Geographical Indication), guarantees of their quality. There are more than 3500 all over Europe. And their production has, this year, been put to the test by the heat wave, making it more difficult to meet the requirements of the labels.
In France, the INAO (National Institute of Origin and Quality) recorded 86 requests for exemptions “40% more than a normal year” according to Carole Ly, acting director. Among the products concerned: Espelette pepper, Sisteron lamb and 28 cheeses, out of the sixty cheeses labeled in France.
“28 this year, historically we have never experienced that, we used to have requests for temporary modification of the specifications, especially in the south of France, and there today we realize that there are more PDOs and in particular higher up in France, further north of France”, says Hubert Dubien, president of the CNAOL (National Council of Appellations of Dairy Origin).
Among these: Fourme de Montbrison, a specialty of the Monts du Forez, in Auvergne, has just obtained an exemption. To comply with the AOP specifications, the cows must usually graze at least 150 days a year and their feed comes 100% from this territory. Criteria that are difficult to meet due to the drought that burned the meadows this summer, as Véronique Murat, breeder and producer of “Fourme de Montbrison” cheese, explains to us.
“Normally, with us, for at least 4 months full time, the cows stay outside and eat the grass that is outside, but there indeed this year, the meadows were with very short and rather yellow grass, Suddenly the cows had nothing to eat”, explains Véronique Murat.
Thanks to the temporary modification of the specifications, the producer was able to buy fodder outside the AOP zone, and will be able to provide her cows this winter with the 17 kilos of daily food they need.
“Without the derogation, we would have had to sell cows, because we couldn’t produce enough fodder this year, due to the lack of grass. It saved us!” explains the breeder.
Can these modifications of criteria alter the quality and taste of the product? We put the question to the INAO, in charge of awarding labels and derogations.
“Food is a highly regarded criterion because it impacts the typicality of the product. When you are on a particular soil, you have a particular vegetation which will give a certain taste to the milk and therefore to the cheese. That is why we are very vigilant so that the changes only have a marginal impact. A Saint-Nectaire will remain a Saint-Nectaire, a Comté will remain a Comté, the consumer will see practically nothing but fire”, explains the director by of INAO, Carole Ly.
“Parmesan, Bellota ham, Kalamata olives… Everywhere in Europe we expect a drop in production”
France is one of the European states with the most labeled products, just behind Italy. In this country, in the Po Valley, due to the historically low level of the river that irrigates the fields, a drop in Parmesan production is expected.
In Spain, the pigs at the origin of the Iberian ham “Bellota”, must according to the specifications of the label, eat grass and acorns. But because of the heat wave, the oak trees did not produce enough acorns and the pigs ran out of food, with the consequence, among other things, of an increase in prices.
Greece is experiencing its lowest olive yield for 3 years due to drought and fires.
All over Europe, the heat wave has put producers in difficulty, anxious to respect the quality criteria of the labels. And in the face of global warming, more than ever, they will have to continue to adapt.
Indeed according to a report recently published by a network of international scientists, the World Weather Attribution, a drought like that of this year, the worst in Europe for nearly 500 years, now has a chance of occurring every twenty years.
