Bob’s Meats of South Haven is back in a familiar place — the winner’s circle of international competition for some of their remarkable products from bacon to ham, served up right here in Michigan’s Great Southwest.
The butcher shop at Bob’s Processing at 70705 16th Avenue in South Haven is lined from wall-to-wall with award citations from competitions ranging from coast to coast, and now they’ve got a pair of international gold medals signifying they have the best braunschweiger and ham in the world to go along with their best bacon in the world award won two years ago.
Bob’s Processing boasts many Best in Show awards, well over 100 blue ribbons for everything from bacon to jerky…and from ham to chili cheese hot dogs, as well as more than a dozen National Championship Awards. On the national stage they are routinely pitted against up to 500 other products.
In fact, 14 years ago in 2005, Bob’s was given the American Association of Meat Processors Cured Meat Hall of Fame Award for long-standing excellence in the production of cured meats and for sharing their knowledge with others in the industry.
Bob’s Processing marks 38-years in business this year, and they continue to wow customers, judges and the entire international scene with championship grade products every day from their shop here in Michigan’s Great Southwest.
In the latest round of competition, Bob & Scott Filbrandt, who own and operate the South Haven business, won international recognition for their meat products at the ‘DFV-AAMP Quality Competition for Sausage and Ham’, held late last month from January 21st-to-25th, 2019 in Madison, Wisconsin. The results from this competition are held in conjunction with the IFFA, the world’s largest meat industry trade fair.
IFFA is the leading international trade fair for processing, packaging and sales in the meat industry, and hosts an international meat competition every three years in Frankfurt, Germany. The German Butchers’ Association formed a partnership with the American Association of Meat Processors to host a “satellite contest” in the U.S. The results from the U.S. competition will be included with those from Germany and acknowledged as being a part of the international fair in May. The competition provides the opportunity for American meat processors to compete on an international level without having to even leave the country.
Bob’s will be awarded with:
- 2 Gold Medals: Braunschweiger and Ham
- 1 Silver Medal: Bacon
To make the event identical to the competition in Frankfurt, organizers sent judges from Germany to conduct the competition in Madison. All entries were graded on appearance, consistency, smell, and taste. The competition received more than 460 entries from 42 companies across the United States.
AAMP Executive Director Chris Young says, “With an award from the German Butchers’ Association, our members demonstrate the international competitiveness and quality of their products. On behalf of AAMP and our members, we congratulate Bob’s for their outstanding achievements.”
Bob’s has been invited by the German Butchers’ Association to attend a ceremony at the IFFA in Frankfurt on May 7, 2019, where they will be awarded their certificates and medals.
Bob’s is a member of the American Association of Meat Processors, one of the nation’s largest trade organizations representing small businesses in the meat industry.
The American Association of Meat Processors (AAMP) is North America’s largest meat trade organization. It is their mission to provide quality service, knowledge through education, regulatory representation, and networking opportunities for their members.
Three years ago I shared with you the story of Bob Filbrandt and his son Scott who at that time had earned a second consecutive title as producer of Grand Champion Bacon in the entire state of Michigan. While that was impressive, two years ago came word of their international domination — essentially the best bacon in the world.
