European Dairy Tour - Stop 6: Avignon 🇫🇷
Welcome to this new series of articles where I take you across Europe to explore the dairy products, lactose-free options, and vegan alternatives available. As someone with lactose intolerance and co-founder of the lactose.help app, I decided to travel across the continent, app in hand, to give you a concrete overview of what to expect if you're travelling with an intolerance.
Seventh stop: Avignon, the first French stop on this European tour.
The journey: welcome to the SNCF network
I had 3 trains to get to Avignon. The train from Geneva to France was very old-fashioned, but hey, it runs.
Between Lyon and Valence, I had the pleasure of encountering an SNCF fraud enforcement officer who clearly doesn't like people travelling with an Interrail pass. After asking for my seat reservation and Interrail pass, I had to present my ID. He's as unpleasant as a prison door but continues his round empty-handed.
This charming character then comes back for more, asks for my Interrail pass again, takes my phone from my hands and starts manipulating the app to see where I started from. For an Interrail pass to be valid, I apparently have to depart from the country where I'm a resident. Even if he has the right to request this information, that doesn't give him permission to be unpleasant, let alone take my phone.
According to the internet, this is a classic on the SNCF network. Interrail travellers, you've been warned!
Quick reminder on the method
For those just joining us, lactose.help classifies products according to their maximum lactose risk, from A (very low risk, safe consumption) to E (high risk, avoid). You can check out the full methodology here.
Supermarket mission: Spar, Super U, Monoprix, Franprix, Naturalia
Before leaving, I thought we were privileged in Belgium with lactose-free products like the Dilea brand. Although the database we use contains over 4 million products, many products outside France aren't listed yet. You can see why I undertook this European tour. It will also allow me to contribute by adding all these references for the Open Food Facts user community.
Lactose-free ranges: a surprising absence
Lactose-free milk in most supermarkets, but no cream, butter or other lactose-free products like in Belgium, Germany, the Czech Republic, Austria, Italy and Switzerland.
The reason? I have no idea. All the more surprising given that 15% of French people are lactose intolerant and symptomatic. There's clearly a trend towards more lactose-free products in supermarkets in other countries.
I've seen on some specialist forums that these lactose-free products also exist in France, but I didn't find them in stores:
- St Malo lactose-free with probiotics
- Elle & Vire lactose-free cream
- Lactel Matin LĂ©ger (skimmed, semi-skimmed, organic)
Only Naturalia covers the essentials (milk, butter, cream):
- Grandeur Nature: yoghurt, thick crème fraîche
- ZĂĽger: cottage cheese, mozzarella, butter
French cheeses: plenty of choice, but more vigilance required
You'll notice that here, dairy products are more often rated B than A, unlike the previous stops. They're more concentrated in lactose, but nevertheless perfectly compatible with an intolerance in reasonable quantities.
Lactose concentration A (< 0.1 g / 100 g):
- Babybel
- Fol Épi
- Leerdammer
- Sainte-Maure goat cheese (26% fat)
- Saint Albray gourmand & crémeux
- Chaussée aux Moines
- Caprice des Dieux
- Coulommiers with pasteurised milk (24% fat)
- Roquefort PDO
- Tomme noire des Pyrénées PGI
Lactose concentration B (≤ 0.5 g / 100 g):
- Saint Agur
- Etorki
- Beurre d'Isigny doux PDO
- Cantal entre-deux PDO
- Camembert de Normandie PDO
- Fourme d'Ambert PDO
- Bleu des Causses PDO
- Chaource PDO
- Mont d'Or raw milk PDO
Lactose concentration C (≤ 1 g / 100 g):
- Beurre doux gastronomique Président
- Brillat-Savarin PGI
- Munster PDO
Lactose concentration E (> 1.5 g / 100 g):
- Lait ribot or buttermilk
- Crème fleurette Monoprix
- Crème fraîche d'Isigny épaisse
- Activia Bifidus nature
- Danone Skyr
- Monoprix fermented milk with bifidus nature
- Goat yoghurt
- Caillé de brebis nature Le Petit Basque
- Douceur de brebis nature Monoprix
- Apéricube Cocktail
- Kiri
- La Vache qui rit
- Carré frais Elle & Vire
- Boursin garlic and fine herbs
- Philadelphia
- St MĂ´ret
- Président Burger Cheddar Emmental
- Petit Billy
Find the list in the book of 42 French PDO/AOC/PGI cheeses as well as 91 others from the European Union among the most widely distributed designation cheeses. 76% of these cheeses are rated A or B, so certainly compatible with lactose intolerance.
The alternative: lactase drops
Once you can get hold of milk, butter and cream, you can recreate most recipes at home without worry. Another alternative, if like in France it can be difficult to get lactose-free products: you can make your own by using lactase drops, to add to your regular products. Within 24 hours, the lactase will have broken down the lactose into glucose and galactose, which are well digested by lactose-intolerant people. For more information, I refer you to my book on the subject.
Eating in France: some challenges
Eating on the go or in a restaurant is more difficult in France because butter and cheese reign supreme. The solution I usually use is to eat more Asian cuisine which, for the most part, is lactose-free.
Unfortunately, food in train stations is often of poor quality with an indecent amount of unnecessary ingredients, technological additives, various additives, colourings, too salty, too fatty, too sweet... This problem is beyond the scope of this blog.
The glass half full
If we want to see the glass half full, being intolerant forces us to spend time preparing our home-cooked meals with fewer of these unnecessary ingredients and probably benefits our health in the long term.
Similarly, while selecting dairy products requires more caution, simple and authentic products like PDO/AOC/PGI are generally compatible with lactose intolerance. What great news to be able to enjoy these wonders!
Comforting winter meals (and not just winter, depending on your tastes): tartiflette, fondue, raclette, flammekueche (Alsatian tarte flambée), Mont d'Or... With a good selection of ingredients, you can continue to enjoy them with pleasure. These meals have an undeniable social aspect. It would be a shame to deprive yourself of these pleasures in life.
Conclusion
This first French stop was more complicated than expected. Unlike the other countries visited, lactose-free product ranges are almost non-existent in supermarkets (except Naturalia). This is all the more surprising given that 15% of French people are intolerant and symptomatic. France remains the land of butter and cheese, which complicates daily life for the intolerant.
Good news however: French PDO/AOC/PGI cheeses are mostly compatible with an intolerance (76% rated A or B). You just need to choose well and favour aged products rather than fresh cheeses.
I'll be passing through Paris after Barcelona. So there will be two French episodes, lucky you!
Join me tomorrow for the next stage of my European dairy tour: Barcelona!
Have you ever travelled to France with lactose intolerance? Share your experiences in the comments!
None of the brands or shops mentioned are involved in any partnership. If that were the case, it would be clearly stated.
To go further
I wrote the practical guide Mieux vivre avec son intolérance au lactose: Le guide pratique pour comprendre, réintroduire et savourer les produits laitiers (Living Better with Lactose Intolerance: The Practical Guide to Understanding, Reintroducing, and Enjoying Dairy Products), available at book.lactose.help. For now, the book is only available in French, but you can vote for your language at lactose.help/book. We will translate the book based on the votes received.