Creepy-crawlie cheese in AOP bid

A Cheese which has a crust crawling – literally moving – with flour mites is being put forward by Auvergne cheesemakers for an Appellation d’Origine Protégée (AOP) protection label as a way of allowing dairy farmers to diversify.

Published Modified

The microscopic mites give Tomme aux artisous its name as artisous is the local name of the flour mite that grows on the cheese and gives it both flavour and its rustic-looking crust. They grow naturally in warm, damp cellars and the cheese is a traditional speciality of Haute-Loire.

Now local producers have applied to registration body INAO for the AOP label as they say that many other local products have been copied on the wider market and they want to keep the Tomme aux artisous as the department’s own.

french news aop

french news aop