recognized at a national level and awarded AOC status in 1955. At that time, the Saint-Nectaire cheese was only produced on farms from milk from their own cows. When the appellation was accorded, industrial milk and dairy factories were also allowed to produce Saint-Nectaire. To differentiate between products made from the two processes, farmstead cheeses are marked with a small oval label in green casein, while a square label is applied to industrial cheeses. In 1996, a Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) was given to Saint-Nectaire, extending name protection to the entire European Union. A new appellation, “petit-Saint-Nectaire” (meaning "small Saint-Nectaire"), given to cheeses that weigh 600 grams, was later included in the specifications. Manufacture Farmstead Saint-Nectaire cheese is always made of whole and unpasteurised milk, two times a day, right after each milking. Industrialized Saint-Nectaire cheese can be made of mixed milks, or thermised or pasteurised milks. of milk are necessary to the elaboration of a single cheese. After each milking, and once the milk is pasteurised, rennet is added to the milk and renneted for a period of 30 to 40 minutes, whether it is an industrial or farmstead cheese. The curd obtained is then uncurdled with a lyre, an instrument made of metal. The milk is uncurdled in order to obtain bits of renneted cheese about the size of wheat grains. The next stage of the production is the picking up of the grains, which fall and are gathered to the tank bottom. Then, the operator removes the whey that makes up for 80% of the initial volume of milk. The milk serum or milk permeate is later given to the cows, spread in the fields. It can also be collected by some dairy industries that extract cream from it, turn it into powder to feed the calves, or use it in the elaboration of other food products, such as chocolate and pre-packaged-meals. Once drained, the bits of renneted milk are pressed for the first time into their mould using a machine. The compressed cheese is called tome. The tome is then wrapped into linen, a little casein stamp (oval or square) is put on top of it, and the cheese is salted (with some brine). Next it is put into a press for 12 to 24 hours. The next step is called ressuyage (lit. "re-wiping"), when the cheese is unwrapped, and stored in a cold room,