The oldest dairy competition in South Africa took place on 23 February 2017 at Grand West in Cape Town. Agri-Expo has been presenting the South African Dairy Championships since 1834 and this year it is supported again by DuPont as a Platinum sponsor.
The championships is one of the only in the world that uses five judges per category to achieve a more accurate result. The judges’ comments are fed back to the participants with the aim to improve product quality, encourage innovation and promote excellence in the dairy industry.
“Although this is the oldest Dairy Championships in South Africa, we keep up with the needs of the industry though regular consultations with them. Two new classes for fresh milk and UHT-milk have been added to the championships. This completes the championships with 9 categories and 102 classes for end products in the processing line of the dairy industry”, says Johan Ehlers, Chief Executive Officer of Agri-Expo.
The championships are well supported by the industry and 83 dairy manufacturers are participating this year, of which 13 participate for the first time. Previous participants entered products in new classes, which indicates growth in product development of the existing manufacturers.
The judges have a very high level of expertise and resort under the expert guidance of chief judge and well-known international dairy judge, Kobus Mulder. The championships makes provision for continuity by giving younger judges the opportunity to participate. Four of these judges are former students of the prestigious Burgundy Exchange Programme of the Western Cape Department of Agriculture, which was co-ordinated by Agri-Expo. All four hold senior positions in the industry and plough their expertise back in this manner.
The South African Dairy Champion Products, Qualité awards and Product of the Year will be announced at the prestigious Agri-Expo Qualité Awards Dinner on 17 March 2017 at Grand West in Cape Town.
For more information, visit www.cheesesa.co.za or contact Agri-Expo on [email protected] or 021-9754440.
