French dairy industry asks citizens to eat more cheese during pandemic

The French dairy industry has launched a campaign to urge people throughout the country to consume more cheese due to a recent surplus amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Apolline Ndeston, a worker at a cheese shop in Paris, said in an NBC News interview published Tuesday that “during the lockdown, it’s been really difficult to sell our products.”

“A lot of people in the neighborhood — left the city, So we have 50 percent [fewer] clients than normal,” Ndeston said.

French cheese makers, which have reported sales falling 60 percent since the COVID-19 outbreak began, are trying to raise awareness using the social media hashtag #Fromagisson, a contraction translating roughly to “let’s act for cheese.”

#Fromagissons pour une consommation solidaire de nos fromages de tradition partout en France.

La filière laitière lance la campagne de communication nationale ” #Fromagissons ” clé en main, à 360° – déclinable en magasin, en drive… pic.twitter.com/iXliAgoW45

— CNIEL (@cniel) April 16, 2020

Part of the campaign’s mission is to reach consumers “without making them feel guilty,” according to a press release from last month.

“The paradox of the dairy sector in the COVID 19 crisis is combating the shortage, loss of outlets, overproduction, and surplus of milk,” it said. 

Ndeston told NBC that people are buying fewer amounts of cheese because they are being “modest” with their spending during the pandemic.

She added that unsold cheese products are not wasted at her store, as many workers take surplus products home to eat at the end of the day.