Paper short abstract:

In the French Alps, organizations of raw-milk cheese producers reinvest a library of indigenous strains collected 30 years ago in the region to enhance the typicality of their cheese. It seems that these indigenous strains will help producers getting back to their lost raw-milk cheese.

Paper long abstract:

In Savoie (French Alps) where raw milk cheese is predominant, the production of raw-milk cheese has followed the same historical evolution as in any other places affected by the modernization of agriculture. The introduction of milking machines in farms, the transformation of cheese workshops to comply with constraining norms have led to a drastic drop of the total count of microorganisms in raw-milk within a single decade. Cheese makers have had to supplement their milk with industrial ferments to continue producing cheese.

In the present context where the sector of raw-milk cheeses is threatened by emerging pathogenic crises (STEC - suspected to be highly risky), organizations of raw-milk cheese producers have adopted two strategies. First, they have put in place a so-called "Pass Lait Cru", a kind of guide to good hygiene practice in the production of milk. Second, they focus on a library of indigenous strains collected 30 years ago in the region to enhance the typicality of their cheese and differentiate it. It seems that these indigenous strains conserved since 30 years will help producers getting back to their lost raw-milk cheese. But microbiologists contest this conception arguing that what makes cheese is not several strains but a whole flora that should be conserved and maintained in-situ.