A study published in August shows that it would also play a role in their microbial diversity.

A team of researchers from INRAE, the CEA, the Conseil national des appellations d'origine laitières (CNAOL) and the Centre national d'interprofessionnel de l'économie laitière (CNIEL) have analyzed the bacteria, yeasts and molds present in over 2,000 samples of French PDO-labeled cheeses and 400 associated milks. As part of the MetaPDOcheese project, thanks to the strong mobilization of PDO industry players, these researchers analyzed samples collected from 386 farm producers and cheese dairies across France, while gathering detailed information on production methods. The results, published on August 6 in the journal ISME Communications, link data on microbial communities with production methods and local know-how in a novel way.

The bacteria, yeasts and molds present in milk and those introduced during fermentation help to give the cheese its taste, texture and participate in the formation of its rind, and contribute to increasing the richness of the gut microbiota of consumers of this fermented product.