For the second time, judges from Germany came to America in order to taste, smell and examine American-made meat products. The International Quality Competition for Sausage and Ham brought an international meat competition to Madison, Wis. To give American processors a chance at gold and silver medals or trophies. The event, held January 21-24, was a satellite contest of the IFFA Quality Competition, an international meat judging event held every three years in Frankfurt, Germany, in conjunction with the IFFA trade show. The judging was put on by the American Association of Meat Processors, the German Butchers Association and UW–Madison’s extension meat science program.
The judges are members of the German Butchers Association, the same group that presides over the IFFA Quality Competition in Frankfurt. In past years, American processors found themselves unable to participate in the IFFA Competition due to customs restrictions on meat products. Three years ago, the American Association of Meat Processors and the German Butchers Association agreed to have German judges come to the United States to judge American entries, and their awards would be presented at IFFA.