I thought I should look a bit further. Seems that while Aldi performed well, lots of other cheesemakers were in there too. The chief judge was (according to the web):
Russell Smith
Cheese Consultant and Educator
Deputy Chief Judge, Australian Grand Dairy Awards
Russell Smith provides cheese sensory training and cheese education for retailers, consumers, chef and restaurateurs, and the list goes on.
Through his role as owner/operator of Mart Delicatessen in Canberra for over 8 years, Russell’s experience of cheese and dairy products offered the local community greater depth of knowledge in Australian cheese appreciation.
Russell judges for the Royal Agricultural Societies and the Australian Specialist Cheese-makers’ Association Awards. He is the chief judge of the Dairy Produce Show for the RNA in Brisbane and is the Chairman of Judges for the Royal Queensland Food and Wine Shows.
So I guess he knows a thing or three about cheese.
The most successful exhibitor in the Sheep, Goat and Buffalo Milk Products category was an artisan producer, Holy Goat of Castlemaine. The champion cheese in this category was a goat gouda from Jindi, Victoria (who, as you would have read in another thread, had soft cheeses withdrawn recently because of listeria contamination. They are a supplier to various outlets including Coles).
The champion cheese overall was Tarwin Blue from Berrys Creek Gourmet Cheese from Victoria - they seem to be a small producer selling at farmers markets and the like. A number of other small dairies were also listed as gold and silver medal winners.
So not quite the supermarket whitewash that the newspaper report suggested. I'd still like to know who made the Aldi cheeses though. If we had an Aldi in town I'd go and have a squizz at the labels.
Margaret