CONTACTS:

Kara McDonald, USDEC PHONE: (703) 528-3049 FAX: 703-528-3705 kmcdonald@usdec.org

ARLINGTON, VA - The World Cheese Awards (WCA) is one of the most respected competitions in the world attracting thousands of entries each year and your company's cheese could be among the contenders. Last year's edition drew in a record breaking 3,472 cheeses from 41 different countries, where the United States came in an impressive 4^th place, winning 89 medals.

In 2019, the WCA will take place on October 18 in Bergamo, Italy and the U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC)-under its new customer-facing marketing entity, the USA Cheese Guild-will be sponsoring the Best USA Cow's Milk Cheese trophy; a high honor and one of a select number of trophies awarded during the competition.

To further the U.S. representation across this year's competition, USDEC will be supporting U.S. cheesemakers by covering the entry costs for cow's milk and cow's milk-based mixed milk cheeses produced in the United States. Help us showcase your superior skills and impress the world with a wide display of exceptional U.S. cheeses by entering your best products into the competition!

USDEC is making it easy to join the strong U.S. representation in the competition, and no export capabilities are required. Why? Because the United States has a tremendous history of quality cheesemaking and creativity to serve global needs, but that story is not well known outside our borders. USDEC is getting the word out by increasing the spotlight on specialty cheesemaking, including a gallery to tell the story behind the cheeses.

To join the movement, participants will simply need to send their best cheeses to a pre-appointed consolidation point, and USDEC will handle it from there. All cheese varieties are welcome, but large, bulk-style cheeses must be cut down and packaged into smaller 1.0lb-4.5lb (0.5kg-2.0kg) blocks. However, full artisan wheels may be accepted so as not to jeopardize the overall integrity and aesthetic of the cheese. Ask USDEC for additional details upon registration.

Contest entries will need to be registered in July and more information will be provided soon, but for now, interested cheesemakers should take the following steps:

• Select their best U.S. cow's milk or cow's milk-based mixed milk cheeses for entry into the competition.
• Reach out to Ryan Hopkin (rhopkin@usdec.org) to register and confirm the number, varieties, names and estimated weight of the cheeses they plan to enter. You must register with USDEC in order to benefit from the entry assistance.

For more information about the WCA, please follow this link.

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The U.S. Dairy Export Council is a non-profit, independent membership organization that represents the global trade interests of U.S. dairy producers, proprietary processors and cooperatives, ingredient suppliers and export traders. Its mission is to enhance U.S. global competitiveness and assist the U.S. industry to increase its global dairy ingredient sales and exports of U.S. dairy products. USDEC accomplishes this through programs in market development that build global demand for U.S. dairy products, resolve market access barriers and advance industry trade policy goals. USDEC is supported by staff across the United States and overseas in Mexico, South America, Asia, Middle East and Europe. The U.S. Dairy Export Council prohibits discrimination on the basis of age, disability, national origin, race, color, religion, creed, gender, sexual orientation, political beliefs, marital status, military status, and arrest or conviction record. www.usdec.org.