Created in 1987, the “Association des fromages d’Auvergne” gathers the four interprofessional unions defending the five Auvergne PDO cheeses:
- CIF – Interprofessional Committee for Cantal Cheeses - regroups the Salers and Cantal PDO producers. It is based in Aurillac (Cantal)
- The Syndicat du Fromage Saint-Nectaire (Saint-Nectaire cheese union in Besse) et Sainte-Anastaise (Puy-de-Dôme)
- SIFAM – the interprofessional union for Fourme d’Ambert in Ambert (Puy-de-Dôme)
- SIRBA – the interprofessional regional union for Bleu d’Auvergne in Riom-ès-Montagnes (Cantal)
Its mission is to promote Auvergne PDO cheeses and to optimise the cooperation between the different parties. It is also:
- a place for technical coordination (examination of the specifications, quality control instore…)
- a way to centralise the distribution of information on the five cheeses (stands in fairs, the Cheese Road, shared advertising material, recipe booklets…)
Since its foundation, AFA ran the following operations:
National advertising campaigns
- 1985/88 “Auvergne is a great cheese platter” TV
- 1995/98 “Auvergne PDO cheeses will always be produced the same way
- 1999: ‘Auvergniac” - Poster advertising
The AFA attends numerous trade shows: the Salon International de l’Agriculture (International Agriculture trade show) the Sommet de l’Élevage (Breeding Summit) in Cournon (63) and numerous local or regional events.
Since 1997, the Auvergne Cheese Road is the occasion for many tourists (more than 70,000 tourists in 2006) to discover the Auvergne PDO cheeses and the know how of the producers.