Aurora Organic Dairy Named Best Fluid Plant at the 2008 All Star Dairy Association Awards

BOULDER, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aurora Organic Dairy, a leading U.S. provider of high-quality private-label organic milk and butter, today announced it has been recognized as the “Best Fluid Milk Plant” by the All Star Dairy Association (ASDA) at its annual conference in San Antonio, Texas. The ASDA is a membership-based organization that specializes in volume pricing negotiated with more than 100 suppliers on behalf of its dairy processor members.

The ASDA has 24 fluid milk plants in the quality program and, of all of them, Aurora Organic Dairy scored the highest in its quality audits, winning it the recognition of Best Fluid Plant in 2007. This was the first year Aurora Organic Dairy participated in the ASDA.

“We are extremely proud to be recognized by this respected organization, which has 50 years of experience working with dairy producers,” said Jay Wilson, Senior Vice President of Supply Chain for Aurora Organic Dairy. “At Aurora Organic, we pride ourselves on producing and processing the highest quality organic milk on the market. We owe it to our quality and plant teams for their industry-leading quality standards, which won us this prestigious award.”

Of the 24 fluid milk plants considered for this award, Aurora Organic Dairy’s plant received the highest overall quality scores in third-party audits conducted by Randolph Associates, Inc. Randolph auditors are SQF, GMA-SAFE and HACCP certified and have extensive food processing experience working with some of the nation’s leading food service companies. Aurora Organic Dairy’s plant also received the highest ESL sensory score for its milk, which measures flavor, body, texture and appearance, as well as shelf life.

“Every year at our annual meeting the All Star Dairy Association recognizes excellence among our member dairy companies,” said Jeff Sterne, Executive Director of the All Star Dairy Association. “2007 was their first year as a member of this organization, and it is a great achievement for Aurora Organic Dairy to win our ‘Best Fluid Plant’ award. This means they scored the highest among all other milk plants in the multiple quality tests conducted by Randolph Associates. We are proud to have a dairy with such high standards as part of the All Star Dairy Association.”

Aurora Organic Dairy is a vertically integrated organic milk producer. A majority of the milk produced on its five company-owned organic-certified dairy farms in Colorado and Texas is processed at its fluid milk plant in Platteville, Colo. This is the only dedicated 100 percent organic fluid milk plant in the U.S. that can process both pasteurized and ultra-pasteurized milk. In addition to third-party quality audits conducted by companies like Randolph Associates and its retail customers, Aurora Organic Dairy’s quality staff conducts comprehensive quality, temperature and sensory testing at five points along the milk’s production cycle – from raw farm milk to finished product. All milk is tested throughout the product’s shelf life and up to seven days past code date to ensure the highest quality.

About Aurora Organic Dairy

Aurora Organic Dairy’s mission is making high-quality organic milk and butter more affordable and available for American families. The company is a leading producer of private-label and store-brand organic milk and butter. The organic production company includes headquarters offices in Boulder, Colo., five organic dairy farms in Colorado and Texas and an on-farm organic dairy processing plant near Platteville, Colo. For more information, visit www.auroraorganic.com.