Some figures on PDO cheeses,
butters and creams
As the birth place of the concept of designations of origin, which was driven by the wine sector from 1935, France has more PDO cheeses, butters and creams than any other European country, with 51 registered PDOs, just ahead of Italy, which has 48.
In France, more than 16,000 dairy farmers work on at least one PDO process.
These include 1,300 producers who make PDO cheeses on their farms using milk from their herds.
Moreover, 430 processing and/or maturing workshops take part in making PDO dairy product.
PDO dairy products account for a total of 53,000 jobs , or 2.8 direct jobs per 100,000 litres of milk processed, compared to one job per 100,000 litres for French dairy production as a whole.
In 2020, nearly 248,000 tons of French PDO cheese, butter and cream was put on to the market. The making and maturing of PDO cheese, butter and cream generated revenue of 2.5bn euros.
78.8% of PDO cheeses are made with raw milk. To find out more about raw milk cheese, visit www.fromagesaulaitcru.fr
Every year, more than 6,200 inspections are conducted on dairy producers, processors and maturers to check compliance with specifications.
54% of PDO geographic areas are in under-privileged agricultural zones, meaning they support challenged localities.
92% of French people eat PDO cheese, butter and cream.
[Source: PDO key figures CNAOL-INAO 2020]
