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Rivals in a lather over recipe for France’s most famous soap

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A file photo of some Savons de Marseille (Marseille soap) on the stand of the Union des producteurs de savon de Marseille (Union of Marseille soap producers) at the Made In France fair in Paris. Photo: AFP
Agence France-Presse

It is as French as baguette and as emblematic of the country’s southern Provence region as lavender fields and cicadas.

But a dispute over the “official” recipe for the region’s famed traditional soap, “savon de Marseille”, has producers in a froth.

With cheap Chinese and Turkish soaps flooding the market, manufacturers want Marseille soap to be granted a “geographical indication” (GI) so consumers can tell the difference between the real thing and cheap imports.

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But a dispute over how “true Marseille soap” should be made has the producers themselves at each others throats.

In one camp are a dozen soap makers from across the southeast of France led by the cosmetics giant Occitane who have formed the Association of Makers of Savon de Marseille (AFSM).

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It was they who filed the bid in October to have the soap recognised as a GI, a designation which already protects many French wines and cheeses.

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