Heath West

Heath West

I’m super proud to have been with you guys on the Treasure Coast airwaves for the last twenty five years! I was born, raised, and now live and work...Full Bio

 

Italy Battling Fake Parmesan With Microchips In Cheese

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Photo: MARCO BERTORELLO / AFP / Getty Images

So this is a new one... Cheese thieves! Yes, they are a thing and an Italian company wants to do something about it.

Apparently Parmigiano Reggiano is one of the most counterfeited dairy products on the planet, with a whole bunch of cheap knockoffs on the market. These "fakes" undercut the price of the good stuff. In fact, to truly be Parmigiano Reggiano, the cheese has to be made only in a tiny part of northern Italy, which includes the Parma and Reggio Emilia provinces.

So here comes the microchips. The Parmigiano Reggiano Consortium (PRC) says it’s putting the microchips in its products as part of a test trial which would allow consumers to trace parmesan cheese back to its original source. No bigger than a grain of salt, the microchips have been inserted into labels found on the rind of around 120,000 parm wheels. That way, each wheel can be scanned with its own QR code label for authenticity.

Do what now?

If the test is a success, it could help stop the fakes from undercutting the real deal. And then we can all sleep soundly again.


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