Paper short abstract:

This paper deals with the place of raw milk in the valorization strategies of PDO Saint-Nectaire cheese, considering that this label provides in a single appellation two ranges of the cheese: a raw milk cheese and a pasteurized milk one.

Paper long abstract:

Among the 45 cheeses placed under the Protected Designations of Origin (PDO) in France, Saint-Nectaire cheese gathers in a single appellation two qualities of cheese: Saint-Nectaire fermier, derived from a raw milk produced in a single farm and the Saint-Nectaire laitier, a pasteurized milk and industrial manufacturing cheese. The fermier cheese is made from raw milk from a herd of the same farm and the transformation must take place immediately after milking, whereas the laitier is derived from pasteurized milk, witch can be stored and collected until forty-eight hours after milking. These technical characteristics reveal a social dynamic of ranking that includes two ranges of cheese in the same appellation. Indeed, Saint-Nectaire fermier is considered for the enthusiasts and experts as the high-end of the label, while the laitier, with its industrial production, contrariwise, is intended to a mass consumption and a popular taste. On the one hand, the raw milk it's seen as a link with its terroir, since it allows the protection of microbial and sensory diversity. On the other hand, pasteurized cheese complies with all sanitary requirements imposed in the European Union and even in the global level. These criteria lead to such different rankings of each product but concomitant with the same appellation. This paper studies the social dynamics of classification including raw milk as a key criterion for a number of the product valorisation strategies.