Roseburg, OR — Umpqua Dairy Sour Cream and Umpqua Vanilla Bean Ice Cream were selected by an independent panel of judges and awarded “First Place Trophies” as the “Best of the Best” in North America at the World Dairy Expo (WDE) Championship Dairy Product Contest.
One of the largest contests of its type in the world, World Dairy Expo Dairy Product Championship Contest is the only one in North America that evaluates and ranks all types of dairy products. The WDE Championship Dairy Product Contest is completely unique, since no other national contest includes all dairy products. This year’s contest, sponsored by the Wisconsin Dairy Products Assn. (WDPA), received a record number of 1,500 entries for cheese, butter, fluid milk, yogurt, cottage cheese, ice cream, sour cream, sherbet, cultured milk, sour cream dips, whipping cream, dried whey and creative/innovative products from dairy processors throughout North America.
“It is amazing how dairy manufacturers have embraced this contest,” says Brad Legreid, executive director of WDPA. “As a part of the World Dairy Expo, the product judging contest provides a unique opportunity for dairy processors to compete in a prestigious, all-dairy competition at the national level.”
Judging was held on August 23-24 at The Alliant Center in Madison, WI and August 25 at University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Babcock Hall. All product samples are judged by awarding points from a 100 point scale for flavor, body and texture, appearance and color, packaging and deducting points for various defects. In Madison, Wisconsin on Tuesday, October 4, the WDE will award brass trophies to first place winners in each category. In addition, a contest auction will be held, at which time all category first place winning products
will be auctioned off. A portion of the proceeds from the October 4 auction will be used to fund various scholarships. These scholarships are awarded annually to deserving students pursuing careers in the dairy industry.
As a testament to their continued commitment to quality dairy products, Tony Gibson, Umpqua Dairy’s Cultured Products Production Supervisor and Wes Roberts, Umpqua Ice Cream Production Supervisor, are honored to receive the awards on behalf of Umpqua Dairy and their respective departments.
“I am always proud and constantly impressed by how well our production team does in making the finest dairy products available to our customers. This is truly the icing on the cake,” commented Doug Feldkamp, President of Umpqua Dairy. “Having won both national Quality Chekd awards for these departments and now the world competition for specific products from these departments is absolutely fantastic. Great job Wes and Tony for your commitment and congratulations to everyone involved. It takes the entire team to make this happen.”
2016 marks the 50th Anniversary of The World Dairy Expo. Recognized as the meeting place for the global dairy industry, World Dairy Expo attracts more than 70,000 attendees from over 90 countries to Madison, Wisconsin, each year. The annual event will take place Oct. 4-8, 2016, with the theme of “Celebrate 50!” to commemorate its golden anniversary. Visit worlddairyexpo.com for more information.
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Third generation family owned and located in the heart of Oregon’s Umpqua Valley, Umpqua Dairy Products, Co. operates as the largest independent dairy in southern Oregon. For over 85 years, our internationally awarded line of dairy, ice cream and juice products have been distributed throughout the Western United States. A tradition of unsurpassed quality, freshness and customer service makes Umpqua Dairy the #1 choice for delicious, refreshing dairy products. For more information, please visit umpquadairy.com.
Source: Umpqua Dairy
