Judges pick the cream of the crop
Chocolate and ice-cream fans are the big winners as expert judges search for the creme de la creme of hundreds of dairy products from across the nation.
Thirteen judges spent two days testing 332 samples of cheese, milk drinks, cream, yoghurt, chocolate and ice-cream for this year's Perth Royal Show dairy competition.
Chief steward John Watson, who has been judging for seven years, said this year's standard was very high - 93 products scored at least 18 out of 20 points to win a gold medal - ensuring consumers were the real winners. "Quite a lot of entries were from WA, but we do encourage the interstate entries because without them part of the reason for having this show wouldn't exist," Mr Watson said.
"The whole opportunity is for producers in WA to be able to benchmark their product against the best products made in Australia. So if we bring in some of the well-known cheese brands from Tasmania, which is generally recognised as having some great cheeses, it gives local producers here an idea of how they stand in relation to the quality of their cheese."
WA-made products compared "very well" against Eastern States counterparts and judging feedback ensured better quality products in years to come.
"It helps them improve their product and we watch them year after year as they develop their products and they get better," Mr Watson said.
He said the dairy produce awards started in 1954 with nine products.
