PÉRAIL AWARDED A PGI

They were right not to be discouraged! After failing in 2019 to obtain the precious Protected Geographical Indication label for their cheese, the association for the promotion and defence of Pérail was delighted to see published in the Official Journal of the European Union on May 26 the recognition of the PGI label for the cheese they defend! "It's like a birth and a newborn baby. You wait for it impatiently, you know it's going to arrive, and when it does, it's even better! And the parents are amazed! Jean-François Dombre, president of the association for the promotion and defence of Pérail and founder of ‘Fromagerie des Cabasse’s, exhibitor at the Cheese and Dairy Products Show in 2024, was delighted the next day in La Dépêche du Midi.

An area spread across five departments

This small, creamy, soft cheese with a bloomy crust takes its name from ‘Pérailhièra’, the Occitan name for the sink stone used on farms to drain cheese. It was originally made on the farm at the end of the ewes' lactation period, when producers stopped delivering milk to the Roquefort cheese dairies. Spread over five departments (mainly Aveyron, but also Lozère, Tarn, Hérault and Gard), the Pérail geographical area now includes 958 farms, with annual production of 964 tonnes, according to INAO (National Institute for Origin and Quality).

Obtaining the precious label is not without its essential production criteria, which can be found on the Institute’s website: “Pérail” production respects animal welfare (access to pasture, straw-bedded area in the sheepfold with hay in the ration). It contributes to the preservation of biodiversity and the environment: use of a local breed, non-GMO feed sourced at least 70% from the PGI geographical area, excluding palm-derived products, compulsory grazing associated with a minimum surface area per ewe, cultivation of forage legumes, soil cover in winter."