American Cheese Society President, and Lifetime Achievement Honoree, Grew Up Loving Wisconsin Flavors

When Marianne Smukowski was growing up on Milwaukee’s northwest side, her father would take the family on road trips just to get cheese. Limburger was a particular favorite, and remains so to this day. 

That cheese-loving kid grew up, but her Dairy State roots are never far. Smukowski earned a degree in food science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Carving out her career path, she worked with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Land O’ Lakes before creating her own unique position at the Center for Dairy Research, where she is dairy safety and quality coordinator. A guardian of food safety and quality for the dairy industry, she works with producers in Wisconsin and beyond. 

Smukowski, who is also the technical adviser for the Wisconsin Master Cheesemaker program, is the 2019-’20 president of the American Cheese Society. ACS awarded her the 2020 Lifetime Achievement Award for decades of work through regulatory, academic and private industry organizations. 

To read the rest of the story, please go to: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel