How cheesy: Award winning result for North-West product on world stage

Heidi Farm Tilsit Cheese, which is made by Saputo Dairy Australia in Burnie, walked away with the Best of Class in the Washed Rind/Smear Ripened Semi-Soft (Semi-hard) Cheeses, Young (less than four months) at the World Cheese Championship in Wisconsin in the US in March.

It was against 52 other cheeses in its class and scored 99.8 out of 100, rating in the top 20 overall cheeses from a field of more than 3000 entries.

"This award is testament to our team's dedication to crafting exceptional cheeses as part of our ongoing commitment to produce high-quality products for our valued customers and consumers using Australian milk," Saputo Dairy Australia general manager of marketing Zoey Saunders said.

"While this prestigious award honours our cheese makers' expertise and the milk supplied by our dedicated farmers, it also affirms Australian dairy's well-earned place on the global stage."

Heidi Farm Tilsit also earned a nomination for the overall World Champion Cheese Award.

SDA's Burnie production manager Bruce Turner said that the "local team is delighted" with the accomplishment.

"Their daily commitment to crafting delicious, locally made cheese has won top accolades both here in Australia and on the world stage," he said.

"Heidi Farm Tilsit is a fantastic quality product that received an impressive 99.8 points out of 100 from a team of skilled technical judges from all over the world."

Heidi Farm Tilsit took home the Champion in the Semi Hard/Eye Cheese category at the 2024 Australian Grand Dairy Awards in February.

The win follows a controversial time for the dairy giant, after Saputo maintenance workers at the dairy giant's Burnie cheese processing plant walked off the job on April 23.

The Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union said maintenance workers are paid 21 per cent less the company's "sister sites" on the mainland and that production workers at the site had an even larger pay gap.