Charolais beef wins AOC status

CHAROLAIS beef has been awarded an appellation d’origine contrôlée, making the meat from Burgundy and the Rhône-Alpes the fourth French beef variety with an AOC.

It joins fin gras du Mézenc from the Massif Central, Camargue bull from Provence and Maine-Anjou from the north-west.

Official AOC Boeuf de Charolles will now have to come from one of 355 designated communes in the east of France.

It joins Charolais goat’s milk cheese, which became AOC in January.