Fonterra has once again proven its excellence in the dairy industry with a series of impressive wins at the UK’s prestigious International Cheese and Dairy Awards (ICDA), the world’s biggest platform to champion world-class producers of cheese and dairy products.
This year's event saw Fonterra's Brands, including NZMP, Anchor Food Professionals and Duck River Premium Butter shine on the global stage, showcasing the best of our dairy products to the world.
“The blocks were presented beautifully on the judging tables. There was a lot of interest in our delicious pasture-fed cheddars, and feedback from existing buyers was very positive.” said Cathy.
Fonterra's entries received numerous accolades, including gold medals for NZMP Unsalted Pastry butter, two varieties of processed cheese, and Fonterra Oceania’s Duck River butter, all made across factories in New Zealand and Australia. Across the cheddar categories, we won gold for Best New Zealand Cheese as well as Best Australian Cheese! What an achievement.
Out of the 26 medals claimed at the awards, 10 were gold, seven silver, and nine bronze – see below for the full list of awards won.
Fonterra’s Collingwood Street, Hautapu, Herenveen, Kauri, Lichfield, Morrinsville, Stanhope, Stirling, Te Rapa, Wynyard, and Spreyton sites all took away awards for their cheeses.
Fonterra Cheese Technical Expert, Craig Honore, said that it was excellent to see our cheeses perform so well.
“It’s fantastic to see our mature cheddars getting the recognition they deserve. They are a real strength, as the flavours are truly three dimensional, setting us apart from competitors.”
It’s a huge effort from all involved across the Co-op to produce quality cheese and dairy products at scale on a daily basis so these awards acknowledge all our hard work.
"New Zealand dairy trade to the UK has a special history, being our largest market until the 1970s, and supplying the UK’s favourite butter for over a century. Following the NZ-UK Free Trade Agreement entering into force last May, we have rebuilt historic relationships and developed new routes to market. The great news for Fonterra is that British buyers and consumers are loving having New Zealand dairy available again, with over 10,000mt of product contracted in the first financial year post FTA." Alexander Hume, Business Development Manager, UK.
About the ICDA
The ICDA is renowned as the world's largest platform for recognising world-class cheese and dairy producers. With over 5,500 entries annually, winning at the ICDA is a significant achievement that places Fonterra among an elite group of dairy producers globally.
Full list of awards:
Gold
• Duck River (Spreyton, Australia) Soft Dairy Blend 500g. Category: Dairy Butter Spread.
• NZMP Mild Cheddar Cheese (Stanhope, Australia). Category: Best Australian Cheese – Cheddar – Mild.
• NZMP Extra Mature Cheddar Cheese (Wynyard, Australia). Category: Best Australian Cheese – Cheddar – Extra Mature/Vintage.
• NZMP Unsalted Pastry Butter (Kauri, NZ). Category: Unsalted Butter (Non UK).
• NZMP Mild Organic Cheese (Hautapu, NZ). Category: Best Organic Cheese – Cheddar.
• NZMP Extra Tasty Cheddar (Lichfield, NZ). Category: Best NZ Cheese – Cheddar.
• NZMP Tasty Cheddar (Lichfield, NZ). Category: Best NZ Cheese – Cheddar.
• NZMP Mild Cheddar (Stirling, NZ). Category: Best NZ Cheese – Cheddar.
• Anchor Food Professionals Hi Melt Processed Cheddar Cheese (Collingwood Street, NZ). Category: Processed Cheese Block / Loaf with no melt.
• Anchor IWS Processed Cheddar Cheese + Calcium (Collingwood Street, NZ). Category: Processed Cheese Slices Individually Wrapped.
Silver
• Perfect Italiano Mozzarella (Stanhope, Australia). Category: Block Mozzarella, maximum moisture content of 52%.
• NZMP Mature Cheddar Cheese (Stanhope, Australia). Category: Best Australian Cheese – Cheddar – Mature.
• NZMP Salted Organic Butter (Morrinsville, NZ). Category: Organic Butter (UK and non-UK).
• NZMP Tasty Organic (Hautapu, NZ). Category: Best Organic Cheese – Cheddar.
• NZMP Vintage (Lichfield, NZ). Category: Best NZ Cheese – Cheddar.
• NZMP Mild Cheddar (Hautapu, NZ). Category: Best NZ Cheese – Cheddar.
• Anchor Food Professionals Coloured Cheddar Processed Cheese SOS (Collingwood Street, NZ). Category: Processed Cheese Slices – Slice on Slice (SOS).
Bronze
• NZMP Meso Block Mozzarella (Stanhope). Category: Block Mozzarella, maximum moisture content of 52%.
• NZMP Medium Cheddar Cheese (Stanhope) Category: Medium Cheddar Cheese – White or Coloured.
• NZMP Unsalted Organic Butter (Morrinsville). Category: Organic Butter (UK and Non-UK)
• Anchor Food Professionals Traditional Cream Cheese 1kg (Te Rapa). Category: Soft, Semi Soft or Cream Cheese without additives (Non UK).
• NZMP Mature Organic (Hautapu). Category: Best Organic Cheese – Cheddar.
• NZMP Mild Cheddar (Lichfield). Category: Best NZ Cheese – Cheddar.
• AFP Extra Yield Cooking Cream (Amsterdam). Category: Carton of Single Cream (UK and Non-UK).
• Seven Premium Melted Mixed Cheese 200g (Tokyo Dairy / Seven and I holdings). Category: Best Pizza Cheese.
• Seven Premium 25% Reduced Sodium Mixed Cheese 110g (Tokyo Dairy / Seven and I holdings). Category: Grated Cheese.