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Foodies cry foul over Whole Foods unholy mix-up of French cheeses

US food store chain Whole Foods Market has been widely mocked, not least by French media, after a map display to accompany its promotion of French cheeses situates Normandy's Camembert in the south of France, Basque cheese in the Loire Valley and Burgundy's smelly Epoisse as coming from the Alps.

La rédaction de Mediapart

This article is freely available.

The French cheese lovers of Twitter are having a little fun at the expense of Whole Foods after photos popped up online showing what appears to be a crime against the world's best cheese, reports Mashable.

Labeled "Cheeses From France," the displays — allegedly seen in Detroit and Washington D.C. stores — features a stylized map of the country that incorrectly pinpoints the origins of cheeses famously named for the places they're produced.

Though Camembert is produced in Camembert, Normandy in northern France, the map pinpoints its origins far south. And though Beaufort Alpage hails from the French Alps, it's pinpointed in the south-west.

French cheeses get their names from the places in which they are produced. In fact, there is a legal designation called the Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée (or AOC for short) that protects cheeses made in certain regions.

AOC-approved Camembert legally can't come from southeast France, as the maps suggests.

The supermarket chain has since realized its error and is working to remedy the situation.

See more of this report from Mashable.