Tag Archives: ACS

Guild ACS Opportunities For 2012

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–Once again the Guild will pay for your FIRST ACS competition entry ($60 per entry — you need to be an ACS member to enter)
—the deadline for on-time competition entries is May 18th, so if you haven’t already submitted your entry forms, do so soon, and then send Mark Whitney your receipt for reimbursement.

–Once again the Guild will help pay for shipping your entries — up to $50 per participating Guild member. Once you have notified the Guild that you will be sending entries, we will attempt to coordinate a best and most cost-effective means of transport.

–This year the Guild will reimburse ONE Guild cheese maker for an ACS Level 1 Professional membership (a $199 value).
—To qualify to be chosen to receive this free membership for 2012 please respond to this email me your name and say “Add Me For A Free Membership” in the body of the email BEFORE Sunday, May 13th and your name will go into a hat. The randomly chosen member will be notified, and once they get receipt for joining the ACS the Guild will reimburse them.

–Once again The Guild wants to send up to FOUR Guild members to the ACS Conference for the full conference experience. The Guild will offer scholarships of at least $900 in expenses toward attending, which will cover the Conference fee of $465 plus some of the travel and lodging expenses.
—To obtain a scholarship email me your name and write “Add Me For A Conference Scholarship” in the body of the email BEFORE Sunday, May 13th and your name will pass on to all non-entered board members who will vote for the four Guild scholarship winners. If fewer than four Guild members apply for the scholarships, the total scholarship money will divided among the attending Guild winners up to but not exceeding their total expenses. The scholarship winners will each be responsible for at least one newsletter article about their conference experience, and for bringing as much of the information they’ve gathered back to future Guild meetings.
–The scholarship winners will be notified on Monday, May 14th so that they can register for the conference BEFORE the early bird deadline of May 23rd.

The results are in:

The Guild subsidized ACS membership goes to: Heather Donahue of Balfour Farm.

The four partial scholarships to attend the ACS Conference were awarded to:
  —Jessie Dowling, Fuzzy Udder Creamery
  —Heather Donahue, Balfour Farm
  —Eric Rector, Monroe Cheese Studio
  —Jamien Shields, Turner Farm Creamery

On behalf of the Guild, congratulations.

News About Raw Milk Oversight at Federal Level

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In March 2012 the US Center for Disease Control (CDC) released the results of a study titled “Nonpasteurized Dairy Products, Disease Outbreaks, and State Laws—United States, 1993–2006” which is now posted on their web site.

In response to this report, the American Cheese Society issued a “Statement on the Safety of Raw Milk Cheese” which put some of the findings of the CDC study into context, as well as made corrections to some of its statements (such as that it is illegal to sell raw milk cheese in the US). Among the assertions in the ACS statement are: “Raw milk cheese, when produced and sold under current FDA guidelines, can be consumed without unnecessary risk” when that cheese is produced under the following circumstances:

  • producing cheese in licensed facilities that are routinely inspected on the local, regional, and
    federal level
  • producing cheese under the oversight of licensed dairy handlers
  • aging cheese for a minimum of 60 days before it is sold

According to the ACS’s latest newsletter: “In light of continued scrutiny, and with the goal of helping cheesemakers adhere to the highest standards of cheesemaking, ACS’s Regulatory & Academic Committee is at work compiling Best Practices for Cheesemakers. This document, as well as a related Best Practices for Retailers document, will serve as a resource for the industry to ensure awareness of current regulations and requirements, and to provide tools that can be implemented to meet those requirements.”

MCG Cheesemakers Win Four Awards at 2011 ACS

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logo_200_lowThree Maine cheese makers won four awards at the 2011 American Cheese Society competition held at the ACS Conference in Montreal, Quebec, Canada this year. There were 1676 entries this year competing for ribbons in 109 different categories. This is, by far, the largest dairy product competition in North America, and the entrants represent cheese and dairy products that have also won awards around the world.

The four awards won by Guild cheese makers are:

Three Maine cheese makers won four awards at the 2011 American Cheese Society competition held at the ACS Conference in Montreal, Quebec, Canada this year. There were 1676 entries this year competing for ribbons in 109 different categories. This is, by far, the largest dairy product competition in North America, and the entrants represent cheese and dairy products that have also won awards around the world.

The four awards given to Guild cheese makers are:

  • American Made / International Style: Open Category Cow’s Milk — 3rd Place to Hahn’s End, Phippsburg
  • Blue Veined Made with Cow’s Milk with Rind or External Coating — 2nd Place to Spring Day Creamery, Durham
  • Yogurts, Plain, Made with Sheep’s Milk — 3rd Place to Appleton Creamery
  • Aged Goat’s Milk Cheese: Open Category — 3rd Place to Appleton Creamery

“Maine produces some of the best milk in the world,” said Eric Rector, President of the Maine Cheese Guild in response to the announcement of these awards. “So it’s not a surprise that year after year, Maine cheese makers are recognized for their outstanding products at major competitions such as that conducted by the American Cheese Society.”

Rector also pointed out that “the support given to the Guild every year by its members, including it’s Sponsoring Partners, make it possible for us to bring world-class cheese making instructors to Maine to continue to improve our skills, as well as to help Maine cheese makers attend important conferences like ACS. This year the Guild helped send four cheese makers to the ACS Conference in Montreal where they were able to learn from and connect with the best in the world. We would like to thank all our supporters for their contribution to this kind of recognition.”

Congratulations to our three Guild winners in 2011!

The Maine Cheese Guild is sponsored by its members, as well as by Five Islands Farm, Treats of Maine, and Turner Farm.