French Cheese

At the tail end are South Africa and Japan, with the low consumption figures attributed to dairy products not being traditionally part of the diet, particularly among the Japanese.

Cheese consumption habits, however, are changing. Traditionally eaten as a separate dish between the main meal and the dessert, cheese in the US is now used in cooking and other food preparations such as salads, tarts and sandwiches, or consumed as snacks. The sheer versatility, adaptability and the increased mainstream acceptance of ethnic cooking, such as Mexican and Italian, which uses substantially more cheese, also explains increased demand for cheese. This is particularly true in the US where Hispanic foods and cheeses are popular.

Consumers are also showing less concern about the fat content of cheese, placing greater emphasis, instead, on flavour. Popular European cheeses include the Dutch varieties Edam and Gouda, Italy’s Mozzarella and Gorgonzola and Feta from Greece. Opportunities for cheese market growth exist through continued product innovations at retail and foodservice levels, such as value added speciality cheeses, including those with an exotic origin or those with unique processing that create unusual flavours. Consumer demand for convenience and healthy foods is also expected to boost the production of convenient cheese portion sizes, pre-slices, cheese spreads and organic cheeses.