Packing and Shipping your Competition Entries 2019

Shipping Materials

Shipping materials and details will be available once the competition opens for entries.

Receiving Day

Your product should be shipped to arrive on the designated receiving day. Entries received prior to this date will be refused upon delivery and sent back to the entrant.

Judging Days

The dates the prodcuts will be judged is published each year when the competition opens for entries.

Prepare Your Shipment

Be aware of when your cheese must arrive and when you need to ship to get it there on time. Please review the shipping instructions below to ensure your cheese arrives at competition in the best possible condition and eligible to be judged.

Quantity Requirements and How to Pack Your Cheese
  • The ACS Judging & Competition is a blind competition. Remove any and all identifying product labels and marks from your competition cheeses.  Any product with brands or labels on the packaging, or the product itself, will receive a 7 point deduction off of the technical score for that product. 
  • If your product weighs 25 lbs. or more in its whole, original form, a 5-10 lb. cut is sufficient for judging and will be accepted. Cuts should conform to industry norms for retail cuts, i.e. (pie slice shape for wheels, loaf shape for blocks, etc.) and should reflect the shape of the original form, INCLUDING the rind.
  • For block forms please send 20lbs.
  • Any cheese or dairy product that weighs under 1 lb. in whole form will require a minimum of 6 pieces. If product integrity will be compromised by shipping less than a full retail case, we will accept a full retail case.
  • Add 2-3 pounds of ice packs per 5 pounds of hard cheese.
  • Protect the ice packs so they don’t get the cheese damp by osmosis. Remember that the average summer temperature in many conference host cities is quite high.
  • It is important for product to arrive within an acceptable temperature range. Pack the product to remain cold for 48-72 hours out of refrigeration.
  • Place cheese in a foam or foil-lined shipping box. Cushion with bubble-wrap preferably (avoid using peanuts or paper packing materials).
  • Keep your shipment tracking information on hand! Should there by any issue in receiving your shipment, you will be contacted a representative from the ACS Judging & Competition Committee.
Shipping Instructional Videos

The video below outlines shipping instructions as well as tips to help ensure your competition arrives in good condition. Please note that the video refers to dates and locations from the 2012 conference, and that the receiving day differs year to year.

The request cannot be completed because you have exceeded your quota.