Camembert Malva sylvestris is one of France ’s most famous culinary custom — butas Bloomberg reports , really bona fide wheels of the soft , creamy delicacy are in risk of melt from marketplace shelves .

The Camembert trade at your local grocery storehouse may be tasty , but it technically is n’t the real deal , purists say . That award is set aside for a character of cheese address Camembert de Normandie , which issue forth from the Normandy area of France . It ’s made with unpasteurized milk accumulate from local cows , contains a fatty content of at least 38 per centum , and is give rise using the same time - honor method first utilized by eighteenth - century Farmer . ( The cheese ’s purported inventor is French cheesemaker Marie Harel , who , according to legend , first created it in 1791 by adapting a non-Christian priest ’s formula . ) To distinguish a " actual " Camembert wheel from a fake one , foodies look for a label bearing the missive PDO , which indicates that the cheese ’s provenience is legitimate .

lamentably forfromagefans , yield of Camembert de Normandie is on the ebbing . In 2007 , several large - scurf Camembert producers petition to lawfully habituate pasteurized Milk River or else of the sensitive variety . That would provide them to lower production toll by bank on multiple milk sources and gain the cheese in magnanimous passel . ( The phthisis of unpasteurized Milk River also carries wellness risks ; for this reason , the sale of " substantial " Camembert cheese is blackball in the U.S. )

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little Camembert producer protested the move , and they get ahead the battle . In turn , heavy business began making an impersonation Camembert that was better for their bottom line . Over the eld , these same companies have been buying out smaller farms while producing a less - expensive production . While palatable to many , the cheese is n’t actually Camembert — and today , only 1 percent of the 360 million wheels of Camembert produced annually are deemed reliable .

Camembert product may be goingau revoir , but French farmers say the best way to keep the cheese alive is by , well , eating it . We ca n’t guess of a more delicious way to carry on finish .

[ h / tBloomberg ]