World Cheese Awards – Terms & Conditions
Published June 2024
| 1.1 | The Organisers or the Guild – the Guild of Fine Food, the organisation that runs World Cheese Awards. |
| 1.2 | ‘MyGuild – the online portal through which entrants enter World Cheese Awards (myguild.gff.co.uk). |
| 1.3 | Company profile – the company’s record on MyGuild, through which entries to World Cheese Awards are made and the results & feedback recorded and released to the entrant. |
| 1.4 | User account – an email address and password to access the Company profile on MyGuild. There can be multiple user accounts for a Company profile. |
| 1.5 |
Host country – refers to the country where the awards will take place. |
| 1.6 |
Arbitrator – refers to a senior member of the judging panel who can be called upon by the judges in the case of queries during the judging process. |
| 2.1 | All entries must be entered by a user registered on MyGuild under a company wishing to enter. Where possible, entries should be entered by one person who has been registered as a user with the company profile. To check your company details and users attached to your account and make any amends or request updates, please login into MyGuild. |
| 2.2 | The entry system will automatically send all World Cheese Awards correspondence about entries, deliveries and results to the user who is set as your company’s delivery instructions/ main award contact. If you are a new entrant creating a company account within MyGuild for the first time, this will automatically be set as the user who made the entry. This point of contact can be changed by you to another user within the Company profile at a later date if required. |
| 2.3 | It is the responsibility of all entrants to ensure that the user entering, or subsequently set to receive correspondence within the Company profile, has access to their email account during entry, delivery, and results periods. |
| 2.4 |
It is the responsibility of all entrants to ensure that the domain name gff.co.uk is added to a safe senders list to avoid missing important World Cheese Awards information. |
| 2.5 | It is the responsibility of all entrants taking part in World Cheese Awards to provide correct information and spellings of company names, product names and contact details. |
| 2.6 | A VAT receipt will be emailed to you on completion of your online transaction. This is the ONLY receipt you will receive. |
| 2.7 | World Cheese Awards is open to food producers, importers, distributors, and independent retailers of speciality food and drink products. |
| 2.8 |
To be eligible to enter World Cheese Awards, entrants must confirm that they are registered as a Food Business with the Food Standards Authority (UK only) www.food.gov.uk (or, for FSA-approved exceptions, must have local authority approval in the UK), or registered for food production with a competent authority in their country (if outside the UK). Companies that are not registered will be unable to enter products into World Cheese Awards. No refunds can be given for withdrawn entries. Additionally, entrants will be asked for food safety accreditation and documentation. |
| 2.9 | Entries from retailers, importers and distributors are NOT eligible unless the name of the food producer is included on the entry form in the Producer/ Manufacturer field. |
| 2.10 | World Cheese Awards is open to dairy-based cheese products only. The Organisers are unable to accept dairy-alternative/ non-dairy cheeses. |
| 2.11 | No cheeses can be accepted into World Cheese Awards that require specialist equipment or that require cooking to taste. All cheeses will be tasted in their delivered state. |
| 2.12 | For cheeses originating from non-EU countries: Depending on the product’s country of origin you may be required to meet certain import criteria and supply documentation, including a certificate confirming your cheeses have received a minimum level of heat treatment and signed by an official veterinarian, before products will be permitted entry to the host country. If the required documentation is not completed, products will be refused entry and therefore will be disqualified. Refunds cannot be given for withdrawn entries. Please refer to the delivery information available from www.gff.co.uk/wca to check which paperwork is required for your country. |
| 2.13 | All entries must be commercially available (not necessarily in the UK) at the time of entry i.e. sold through independent retailers, local markets, online or a multiple retailer. This may be in the UK, Europe or the rest of the world, but please refer to the list of countries from which certain cheeses are not permitted for entry due to import regulations, available from www.gff.co.uk/wca. |
| 2.14 | All products must be made to the same standard and recipe as the foods available commercially. Different batches made specifically for World Cheese Awards judging will be disqualified. |
| 2.15 | If the product is changed in any way, permission for use of the award label or logo will be withdrawn and the product must be re-submitted to World Cheese Awards. Any change that could potentially affect the product, including but not limited to: difference in production or manufacturing process, altered recipe, a significant seasonal impact on ingredients, alteration to ingredient quality, a change in source or type of ingredients and their treatment, would make the award void and the product should be resubmitted to World Cheese Awards. |
| 2.16 | Entries must be fit for human consumption and must meet the import requirements. |
| 2.17 | World Cheese Awards 2024 closes for entry on Monday 16th September or earlier if the entry cap is reached before this date. Early entry is strongly advised. The Organisers reserve the right to re-open entry during 2024 to accept additional entries. |
| 2.18 | Food groups, networks or PR companies entering products on behalf of client(s) MUST enter each product under the Company profile of the producer. Users can be associated with multiple Company profiles if required. The point of contact can be changed to another user within the Company profile at a later date if required. The company turnover declared on entry must relate to the producer (last filed accounts), not to the Food Group, network or PR company. |
| 2.19 | Product entry details must be correct when the entry cap is reached, and entry is closed. There will be no opportunity to edit the product entry details after the entry period closes. Only in extreme circumstances will amendments to product entry details be made, and only at the discretion of the World Cheese Awards Organisers. This would not extend to a substitute to a completely different product than that entered. |
| 2.20 | World Cheese Awards Organisers reserve the right to refuse entry of a product if it is deemed inappropriate or not in the true spirit of the awards. |
| 2.21 | No entry will be accepted AFTER the entry cap is reached. |
| 2.22 | Products may only be entered in ONE category per year. It is not permitted to enter the same product in multiple categories. However it is permitted to enter the same cheese more than once, provided the age profiles are different, e.g. Parmigiano Reggiano 24 months and Parmigiano Reggiano 36 months. Cheeses are judged based on their own merit and not compared to others in the same category. Categories are intended for operational purposes only and organisers reserve the right to move your cheese into a different category for operational purposes. This will not affect your results or chance of being awarded. Please refer to point 2.23 regarding a product sold under more than one brand name. |
| 2.23 | If the exact same product is sold under an alternative brand name, and this brand name is declared on the World Cheese Awards entry form in the Alternate Names field, in the event of an award at the discretion of the Organisers it may be permitted to use the award logo on these alternative brand names. The alternate names cannot be advised retrospectively. |
| 2.24 | The Organisers may check your product description and amend or remove nonfactual information, if applicable. |
| 2.25 |
The Organisers may check your product is entered into the correct category and amend if applicable. |
| 2.26 | Entries that do not include full entry information before payment, or with any sections left as TBC (or similar) will be automatically disqualified. |
| 2.27 | All cheeses are judged blind, tasting and assessing flavour, rind, body, texture and appearance. The entrant name, product name and country of origin will not be made known to the judges. |
| 2.28 | ONE flavour equals ONE entry. If multipacks are entered it must be made clear which flavour is to be tasted from the pack, or the product may be withdrawn. |
| 3.1 | A payment by credit/ debit card, in full, is required when entering online. Entry fees not paid in full before the entry cap is reached will result in products not being judged. |
| 3.2 | There will be NO REFUND given if a product needs to be WITHDRAWN from the judging process after an entry has been paid for or if it does not clear any border inspections during the transportation process to the host country due to incorrect or incomplete paperwork. However, if you contact the office BEFORE entries close, the Organisers may be able to accept an alternative product in its place. No product details can be edited or changed by the entrant after the entry period closes. Please refer to point 2.21. |
| 4.1 | A delivery date will be allocated to each entrant to go to an assigned delivery address, which will be advised nearer the event. There are consolidation points across the world: www.gff.co.uk/wca. |
| 4.2 | An email email will be sent to the user selected to receive correspondence within the Company profile. |
| 4.3 | All judging is planned to take place at the Pavilhão multiusos de Viseu, Portugal. |
| 4.4 | It is the responsibility of the entrant to ensure the prompt and safe delivery of all products by the requested date for delivery. Failure to do so may result in disqualification. |
| 4.5 | It is the responsibility of all entrants to ensure that all products are packed, transported and delivered in a condition fit and safe for consumption by the judges. Damaged products or samples deemed unsafe for consumption will be disqualified. |
| 4.6 | It is the responsibility of the entrant to notify the Organisers of any products with a short shelf-life and to contact the Organisers to arrange an alternative delivery date if applicable. |
| 4.7 | Any customs/import charges applicable to the delivery of an entry must be paid by the entrant. If applicable, the Organisers will seek to reclaim any such charges incurred from the entrant. |
| 4.8 | Please use the Box Label supplied with the delivery labels on all parcel(s) to help with identification of your parcel(s) at both the consolidation point and on arrival at the judging venue. |
| 4.9 | Each cheese must be labelled with the CORRECT Product Label supplied with the delivery labels. There is one UNIQUE Product Label for each entry – please check carefully against the list provided in your MyGuild account that you have affixed the correct Product Label to the correct cheese. |
| 4.10 | Cheeses must not have any visible identification marks. Please ensure any indelible markings and branding on entries are removed or covered before delivery otherwise judges may insist a branded entry is disqualified. |
| 4.11 | Any cheese that has been previously ironed or bored more than once will be disqualified. |
| 4.12 | Soft cheeses will be stored overnight in a refrigeration unit. During receipt of deliveries and cheese staging, there may be short periods when soft cheeses are not in a refrigeration unit. This will always be in line with health authority rules and regulations for tasting by judges. |
| 4.13 | Entrants may be required to produce official documentation for import to the host country, signed by an official veterinarian of the veterinary authority in the country of origin. If applicable, this paperwork must accompany the delivery and a copy be sent to the World Cheese Awards team ahead of the delivery. |
| 4.14 | Entries from Europe are advised to send between 500g – 2kg per cheese. Entries from outside Europe (Rest of World) are advised to send up to 500g per cheese. It is permitted to send an entire cheese if it needs to be staged whole. |
| 5.1 | Judging is planned to take place on Friday 15th November 2024, at Pavilhão multiusos de Viseu, Portugal. Please note dates and location are correct at time of publishing and may be subject to change. |
| 5.2 | Judges may cut whole cheeses for closer examination. |
| 5.3 | Badly deteriorated cheese will be discarded at the discretion of the Organisers. |
| 5.4 | The Organiser is unable to accept responsibility for any loss or damage to cheeses during or after the exhibition, in transit to the show or on collection. |
| 5.5 | Under no circumstances must any cheeses be removed from the judging area by entrants. No products can be collected by entrants unless prior arrangement has been made in writing with the Organisers. It will only be possible to collect products if the host country’s health authority allows it. Those products will only be released after the judging process is completed and only if the Organiser has been advised by email the name of the person undertaking the collection. |
| 6.1 | The International Supreme Jury will announce the 2024 World Champion Cheese, during late afternoon on the day of judging. All other results, including all Super Gold, Gold, Silver and Bronze winning cheeses will be available to entrants in their MyGuild accounts and on the WCA public-facing website www.worldcheeseawards.com within 48 hours of the judging. |
| 6.2 | In the event of a tie for the World Champion Cheese, the Organisers will subtract the highest and lowest score from the relevant cheeses to establish a revised score, with the highest score winning. If there is still a tie after this formula the cheese with the highest number of maximum scores will be declared the World Champion. |
| 6.3 | A notification on our website will alert entrants when results have been checked and are available to them on MyGuild. Please refer to gff.co.uk/wca for the latest updates. Each user associated with a Company profile will be able to access that company’s results via their user account. |
| 6.4 | It is the entrants’ responsibility to look up their results on MyGuild. |
| 6.5 | Award winners will always be displayed in the format entered into World Cheese Awards by the entrant. This includes the name of the company, name of the product and the website & social media links. Entrants must ensure that all product details are provided correctly on entry to World Cheese Awards. |
| 6.6 | The Organisers are unable to provide individual companies with their results over the telephone. |
| 6.7 | Award certificates will be available to download via MyGuild, giving entrants immediate access and enabling entrants to print their own copies or use certificates in a digital format on websites and other communications. |
| 6.8 | The Organisers may share World Cheese Awards winning entrants’ telephone numbers or email addresses with carefully selected partners for the purposes of stocking winning products. The Organisers may share World Cheese Awards winning entrants’ details with relevant sponsors or media contacts for promotional purposes only. If you do not want your company details shared with third party organisations, please contact the Organisers to make this clear. The Organisers use Google Analytics to assess MyGuild data for its own purposes. |
| 6.9 | The Organisers will not share details of specific entries ahead of results or make public specific details of those who have entered, but not been awarded. |
| 7.1 |
World Cheese Awards logo artwork and labels will be available to companies wishing to use them for promotional purposes. There may be a charge for the logo artwork depending on the company turnover stated on entry, and it is this company that must apply directly to the Organisers for the logo artwork using the Logo & Label online ordering system within myguild.gff.co.uk. Consortiums, food groups, networks and PR companies may not apply for logo artwork on behalf of their producers/ clients. The logo artwork charges for World Cheese Awards 2024 are as follows: Turnover more than £5million Turnover between £1-5million Turnover less than £1million Member companies with turnover over £5million Member companies with turnover less than £5million that were members of the Guild of Fine Food on entering World Cheese Awards 2024* and whose membership remains current at the point of ordering the logo artwork for the same year Please see www.gff.co.uk/wca for further information. |
| 7.2 | Any entrant wishing to print the award logo directly onto their packaging must provide the Guild with proofs prior to printing. The Guild reserves the right to refuse permission to use its logo if it believes the terms and conditions of usage are not in accordance with its rules and regulations. The terms and conditions of usage will be supplied with the artwork on application and are available within MyGuild to winning entrants and publicly on gff.co.uk/wca. |
| 7.3 | The World Cheese Awards logo is protected by trademark. Any misrepresentation will result in the award being withdrawn or disqualified. |
| 7.4 | Use of the World Cheese Awards logo or labels must be in accordance with the most recent published brand guidelines relating to the current World Cheese Awards artwork. |
| 7.5 | The logo must always include the year in which the award was won and the award achieved (Super Gold, Gold, Silver or Bronze), and may only be used on award-winning products. |
| 7.6 | Use of the logo on any product that has not won an award is expressly forbidden. |
| 7.7 | In the case of ‘own label’ or ‘private label’ foods packaged under the name of another producer, retailer or distributor, the World Cheese Awards logo may only be used on the packaging if the name of the original producer is clearly stated on the pack. |
| 7.8 | If the exact same product is sold under an alternative brand name, and this brand name was declared on the World Cheese Awards entry form in the alternative names field, in the event of an award at the discretion of the Guild it may be permitted to use the award logo on these alternative brand names. The alternative names cannot be advised retrospectively. |
| 7.9 | If an award-winning product is changed in any way, permission for use of the award label or logo will be withdrawn and the product must be re-submitted to World Cheese Awards. Any change that could potentially affect the product, including but not limited to: difference in product or manufacturing process, altered recipe, a change in source or type of ingredients and their treatment, would make the award void and the product should be resubmitted to World Cheese Awards. |
| 7.10 | The Guild has the right to remove an award if a producer is prosecuted by a relevant authority for food or animal safety violation, or from any Company deemed to be acting in an offensive, racist or harmful way or if the Company is deemed to have put the Organisers’ activities into disrepute in the opinion of the Organisers. |
| 8.1 | The Arbitrator’s decision will be final. Any appeal must be made in writing and sent to the Organisers, FAO: John Farrand, within 7 days of the judging. |
| 9.1 |
The entry payment will allow the entrant to submit, and the Guild to accept, the agreed number of cheese samples. These samples must be delivered free of charge, including transport and any other costs, on a timely basis and in good order to one of our consolidation points, as agreed prior to your shipment. At this point the samples are the property and responsibility of the Guild. |
| 9.2 | The Guild undertakes not to onward sell any of the samples and to dispose of the unused samples in a responsible way, priorisiting environmental and sustainable practices wherever possible. The samples will only be used by the Guild for the purposes of tasting and evaluation by the selected judges. |
| 9.3 | The Guild will manage how the cheese samples will be sent from consolidation points to the judging venue, including routes and mode of transport and this may be subject to change during the process. The Guild will take responsibility for the invitation of judges and arrival of cheeses to the judging venue. Please note that submission of an entry does not give any right to personal admission to or involvement with the judging or the judging venue. |
| 9.4 | The entire process is managed and directed from the Guild’s registered office in Gillingham, UK. The entrance fee is comprised of 50% for creation, promotion and selling of the event, 30% for managing and organising prior to the judging event, 15% for the post-event management and promotion. The balance (5%) covers event management at the judging venue. |
| 9.5 | The Guild reserves the right to re-schedule the timetable for the supply and tasting of the products and of the events and results announcements. |
| 9.6 | The Guild is not responsible for decisions on import legislation made by the host country. Should your cheese be refused entry into the host country due to your product country of origin not being included in the list of countries able to send to the host country, we will refund your entry fee. Please note that receipt of a paid entry into the World Cheese Awards is not confirmation of being able to participate as the end decision on permitted imports lies with the host country where the awards is taking place. |
| 9.7 |
It is not permitted for any organisation external to the Guild of Fine Food to sell entry places or offer them as part of another service to entrants or potential entrants without the express written permission of the organisers. |