Published
Video length: 3 min
Food: butter manufacturing standards not always respected by manufacturers
The French consume on average 8 kg of butter per year per person. But do we really know what’s inside? Is the water content, which must be limited to 16%, respected?
(France 2)
The French consume on average 8 kg of butter per year per person. But do we really know what’s inside? Is the water content, which must be limited to 16%, respected?
The composition of butter is sometimes opaque. There are sometimes fraudulent butters, which contain too much water or unauthorized mixtures of fats. However, butter manufacturing must meet very strict standards. A team from France Télévisions visited a dairy in Verneuil-sur-Indre (Indre-et-Loire), where 2,600 tonnes of extra-fine butter are produced each year.
Too much water
The specifications are precise: 16% maximum water content, 82% fat, a very reduced list of ingredients. A single addition is made to the raw cream, lactic ferments, which give the butter a nutty taste. After several hours of maturation comes the stage which defines the fat content. Patrick Rousseaux, the manager of the dairy’s butter workshop, says he constantly checks the conformity of his butter strips. “The lab takes samples every day”, he assures. However, not all manufacturers are so careful.
A fraud prevention laboratory checked nearly 130 professionals in the sector, and almost a third of anomalies were noted, particularly in the composition of the butters. In many cases, too high a water content was noted.
Among Our sources
Investigation by the DGCCRF, the General Directorate for Competition, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Prevention
Non-exhaustive list.
