Whole Foods Market Welcomes 40 New Certified Cheese Professionals

Whole Foods Market has recently welcomed 40 new Certified Cheese Professionals (CCPs), increasing its total to over 370. The CCP designation, awarded by the American Cheese Society, signifies extensive knowledge in the cheese industry, including production techniques, ripening processes, distribution, and storage. With more than 1,000 CCPs worldwide, over a quarter of them are employed by Whole Foods.

Cathy Strange, Whole Foods ambassador of food culture, highlighted the importance of this certification for both the team and customers, emphasizing the store’s commitment to providing high-quality products and expertise in specialty categories like cheese and wine.

The training for the CCP exam involves months of preparation and specialized training in Wisconsin with the Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin and the University of Wisconsin Center for Dairy Research.

Kim Dunn, senior category merchant of specialty cheese and CCP program lead for Whole Foods, expressed pride in the dedication of the team members and their commitment to enhancing the customer experience through their cheese expertise.

In addition to its cheese programs, Whole Foods also offers apprentice training in various other areas, including butchering, bakery decorating, produce, and pizza making. The supermarket chain, based in Austin and owned by Amazon, operates over 530 stores across the U.S., Canada, and the U.K.