News

The judging of Africa’s largest and oldest dairy competition, the 192nd South African Dairy Championships, began on Wednesday 19 February 2025 at Eensgezind outside Durbanville and will continue over three days until Friday 22 February.

This year, a record 103 judges evaluated an unparalleled 1 110 dairy products submitted by 77 manufacturers.

Breyton Milford, General Manager of Agri-Expo, which has hosted the championships since 1834, said the association is privileged to showcase excellence in the dairy industry through this prestigious competition. “We again attracted record entries, and this year’s event was highly anticipated by both entrants and judges as we introduced several changes to enhance the championships' impact," Milford said.

Innovation strengthens industry impact: 

Chief judge Graham Sutherland emphasised that innovation fosters participation. “The complexity of this competition requires that preparation commence a year in advance, in conjunction with the organisers and experts on the dairy advisory panel,” Sutherland said. “This year’s championships introduced several new initiatives. Firstly, we added various new product classes, resulting in increased entries. Secondly, we invited additional technical judges and implemented an improved score sheet to capture 5 550 scores more effectively. Thirdly, we extended the judging to an additional day to accommodate ice cream products better.”

Chris Fourie, President of Agri-Expo, highlighted the industry’s enthusiasm for this year’s championships. Judges praised not only the high-quality entries but also the valuable networking opportunities and the role of expert feedback in driving continuous product innovation.

Qualité – the dairy industry’s sole mark of excellence:

The SA Dairy Championships includes 150 different classes for cheese, yoghurt, milk, cream, ice cream, butter, and other dairy products. Class winners are awarded the title of SA Champion. Products of exceptional quality that achieve a minimum international score can earn the prestigious Qualité Mark of Excellence – the dairy industry’s highest accolade. The product with the highest overall score is crowned Product of the Year. Winners will be announced at the SA Dairy Awards on 8 April.

Milford expressed gratitude to the thirteen industry partners supporting the SA Dairy Championships. "We sincerely appreciate the support of our platinum partners IMCD and DSM-Firmenich, our diamond partners Novonesis and SIG, our gold partners Woolworths, Synercore, Condio, Hollard, Checkers, IFF, Orchem, and the Western Cape Department of Agriculture, as well as our silver partners Pick n Pay and Mane."

All products are donated to a charity after the judging.

For more information, visit https://cheesesa.co.za/, call 021 863 1599 / 083 440 1628, or send an email to dairy@agriexpo.co.za.