2y ago

Parmigiano-Reggiano makers are putting edible microchips the size of a grain of sand into their 90-pound cheese wheels to combat counterfeiters

www.businessinsider.com

Parmigiano-Reggiano makers are putting edible microchips the size of a grain of sand into their 90-pound cheese wheels to combat counterfeiters::Italian Parmigiano-Reggiano makers are using microchips to verify the authenticity of their products and thwart scammers.

Lemmy Shitpost @lemmy.world

kate @lemmy.uhhoh.com

3w ago

guys what the heck theyre putting micro chips in the cheese and using blockchains to track the micro chips

www.businessinsider.com /edible-microchips-on-parmigiano-reggiano-used-to-fight-counterfeiters-2023-8

Cyberpunk @lemmy.villa-straylight.social

neondruid @lemmy.villa-straylight.social

2y ago

Parmigiano-Reggiano makers are putting edible microchips the size of a grain of sand into their 90-pound cheese wheels to combat counterfeiters

www.businessinsider.com /edible-microchips-on-parmigiano-reggiano-used-to-fight-counterfeiters-2023-8

Late Stage Capitalism @lemmygrad.ml

HiddenLayer5 @lemmy.ml

2y ago

Parmigiano-Reggiano makers are putting edible microchips the size of a grain of sand into their 90-pound cheese wheels to combat counterfeiters

www.businessinsider.com /edible-microchips-on-parmigiano-reggiano-used-to-fight-counterfeiters-2023-8

206 comments

I got to admit, Italians inventing Cheese DRM, wasn't on my 2023 Bingo card.
- I would try really hard to do that
  
  Bolognese always clogs my fiber lines. Do not recommend downloading.
- Physical products are the only ones that makes sense for DRM.
- Blockchain-based cheese DRM! 😂
- DRM? More like DOC!

For fucks sake... This is literally about an RFID sticker that is put on the outside of whole cheese wheels.
So unless you buy whole 40kg wheel and then eat it with the rind... you are not eating any.
And also fuck that article for even mentioning that.
- That makes it sound like the "edible" aspect of this is just an anti idiot feature. *Or just "printed" on it.
  Either way, pointless article.
  
  I believe regulations require that everything you put in or on food is technically editable. Like the paper stickers on bread or produce. They are disgusting, but if you or your child accidentally eats them, they are fine.
  
  Alex Jones will yell about the headline and say Soros is microchipping food and if you eat cheese the 5g vaccine will do a false flag and turn the frogs even gayer.
  
  Some recipes use the rind too, check this other comment here...
  https://lemmy.world/comment/2658630
- unless you buy whole 40kg wheel and then eat it with the rind
  Haha no of course not...
  
  lol right? I would never lol, that would be like, too much? Would it be too much? Honestly we may never know
- Some people add the rind to broths.
  
  If your soup or sauce sparks a little bit next time, you'll know, lol.
- You seems to be someone that don't eat parmesan cheese.

The chips use blockchain technology and trace the wheel of cheese back to where the milk that was used came from.
Cryptobros, Unite! We finally found a way for blockchain tech to be relevant for more than just ransomware! We authenticate cheese!
Someone's gonna make a ton of money on CheeseCoin
- Blockchain is also good for solving the Ship of Theseus problem. You can encode the entire history of the object into the object.
  Blockchain has many cool uses and none of them are currency.
  
  I mean, the ship of Theseus isn't a problem, nor is there a solution, but I get the joke anyway :)
- Blockchain =/= crypto
  Crypto uses blockchain, but blockchain is just a different type of database that generally tracks data through a decentralized network. It has a lot of real uses beyond crypto like identity verification, transcript/records management management, and iot data sharing. It’s nothing that can’t be done in a centralized manner, it’s just a different way of going about it that, in some cases, is much more secure and/or much more easily accessible.
  
  It’s nothing that can’t be done in a centralized manner,
  and thats the main problem with basically all blockchain related solutions, theres pretty much always a centralized alternative thats more efficient
- I don't know, can you make a JPEG of the cheese wheel and then put the hyperlink on the blockchain? Maybe make it so I can import the cheese in a shitty MMO that nobody actually wants to play?
  
  It probably is, for ants

If I run low on health and have to eat several dozen cheese wheels, will the authentic DRM ones provide a greater HP boost compared to the generic cheese wheels?
- Actually an "HP boost" refers to using fake Hewlett-Packard ink cartridges that circumvent their ink-jet printer DRM. 😁

Maybe I’m a picker eater, but I think I’d rather have an inauthentic product than eating a microchip.
- Hey, don't knock it till you try it
- as other people pointed out, is a sticker on the outside, on the hard part.
  unless you are very hungry and have good teeth, you will not eat it.
  yet, since is applied on edible product, it needs to be edible.
- You wouldn't even notice.
  
  I would!
  points RFID scanner in their general direction
  
  I'm both cases.
- You won't be eating any, read again.
  
  I know. There’s an answer above where I say that. Writing a jokey comment doesn’t mean you haven’t read it.
- What if the inauthentic product is made by my mate dodgy Dave who got a load of cheap milk and some dirty old metalwork, it's ok he flushed a load of industrial cleaner through them and it's good stuff they use it to clean engines at his brother's garage...
  You'd be far better off not buying a prestige product and getting a good quality cheese from a reputable manufacturer at a price that doesn't include a huge markup due to perceived historic significance
  
  As long as Dodgy Dave passed his mandatory FDA inspections I'd eat his cheese.
  You think the big brands don't use industrial cleaner? LOL
  
  I mean I was being a little jocular in my comment (since this tracker is on the outside) it doesn’t really matter.
  But by preferring “inauthentic” I was thinking something like “Greek style cheese” which is just feta but made outside of Greece or sparking wine for champagne. So food standards still apply.
  But yeah, they are trying to stop fraudulent claims.

Nothing enhances that Mediterranean flavor quite like micro plastics

The conspiracy theorists are going to run wild with this one.
- That’s because makers of Parmigiano-Reggiano are implanting microchips into the casings of their 90-pound cheese wheels as the latest move to ward off counterfeiters, The Wall Street Journal reported.
  If it's just going in the casings, then it wouldn't be eaten I guess?
  
  Except for counterfeiters. They eat the whole thing to make sure their copies are accurate but now we can track their poops. I'm telling you, Mario, this thing is genius!
  
  They don't read the article though so as far as they're concerned this proves jet fuel can't melt 5G COVID

its funny that some ppl are paranoid that bill gates is trying to microchip them with a vaccine when they probably already have been by the fucking itailians

Not really putting them "into" their cheese, just the labels that bind with their outer casing of the cheese wheel. Still neat.
They are being placed on the casein label, a food-safe label commonly used in cheese production, which is placed on the cheese wheel.
- Okay...
  That still begs the question, why are they considered edible? Are people eating the labels? 🤔
  
  Probably because otherwise people would be like "yOuRe PuTtInG mEtAl IN mY cHEeSe"
- Except it is very common to boil cheese rind for broth. And prolonged exposure high temperatures tend to break down pollutants into even more reactive forms as well as draw them out into solution. Worse if it's in like a commercial steam oven or pressure cooker that can get much higher than 100 C, you know, like many professional restaurants make a point of using.
  I doubt it will be that easy to identify and scrape off, because that would defeat the point, probably hidden deep within the layers. It says it can't be read remotely so very unlikely it's just an off the shelf RFID sticker you can easily see and peel off. I also doubt a lot of people will know it's there and that it needs to be removed in the first place, or they'll take their word for it that it's edible even though they are absolutely in no position to make that claim and have definitely not done the rigorous medical research/testing to actually justify a claim like that.

I guess in that case I should probably seek out the counterfeit versions of it since they're now apparently better than the originals.
- What?
  
  Who wants to eat a microchip?
- Where in the article did it mention that the counterfeit versions are better than the originals? I didn't see a comparison of quality at all (maybe I missed it?).
  
  I think it's more than the counterfeit versions have gotten so good and/or cheap that the genuine manufacturers feel the need to compete by placing microchips in their cheese rather than improve their own or bring down the price.
  
  Well the counterfeit versions don't have microchips in them.

Lol, cheese DRM. Just when I thought more DRM was impossible.

Next up. Improve your wireless network with cheese.
- Introducing: the Mish network!

If I can make cheese good enough to pretend that it's another brand, I'm gonna just slap my own label on it
- It's not a brand name but a regionally protected signifier. Like champagne.
  
  Ah yeah the appellation system. couldn't you just call it "Champagne-style wine"?

Hold up...
There is counterfeit cheese?
- It's not Parmigiana-Reggiano if it doesn't come from the Parmigiana-Reggiano region of France. Everything else is just sparkling cheese.
  
  Swiss cheese seems like it literally is sparkling cheese. The holes are the carbonation! 🤣
  
  It's Italian. Parma and Reggio are two Italian cities.
  
  Beautiful
- And olive oil and cigarettes and... Anything else really.
- EU has lots of protected origin products.
- Wait till you find out about fake eggs (etc) in china
- Have you not tried Velveeta?
- Yea, many swiss brands have problems protecting their IP in America. Just recently Emmentaler lost its IP there, because Emmentaler describes a sort of cheese which is like our Swiss Emmentaler in America vs here in Switzerland only cheese from the Emmental is allowed to be called a Emmentaler.
  
  Also for the Gruyère cheese it was recently announced the US will ignore Switzerland's claims. That despite the fact Gruyère and Emmentaler are traditionally made with raw milk, something that's illegal in the US.
- You know, just FYI: Vermont white cheddar is "American cheese." It's not just Kraft singles.
- Thank China for that.
  
  Cheese that is cheaper and just as tasty as the original? Thank you china!

Why are they not using those nanotech microchip trackers that are small enough to fit in a vaccine, and that can communicate with a satellite without any need for a radio or battery?
- Those chips are only good for mind control
- The cheese is ruined when they make it magnetic, of course

if people who is eating them cant tell the difference than whats the point
- Probably to protect the "brand" at places that actually care about advertising what kind of cheese they have
- They make counterfeit Rolex so good, you need an expert and a microscope to tell the difference. Why not cheese.
  
  It's almost like luxury goods are a scam and purely for bragging rights of having the brand, and not that the actual object is unique or the best!
- You really don't want to buy counterfeit food.
  
  One of the biggest reasons for avoiding counterfeit food is the higher risk of contaminants.
  Semiconductors are a pretty serious contaminant.
  
  Could you please elaborate on that
  
  I would rather buy the cointerfeit version of this cheese if that comes without microchips

TIL there's a global market in fake cheese. Which is to say, real cheese that someone slapped a fancier label on.
I'm sure all the steps we took to reach this point were logical ones, but we still find ourselves in a very strange place.
- Just wait until you hear about olive oil.
  https://www.forbes.com/sites/ceciliarodriguez/2016/02/10/the-olive-oil-scam-if-80-is-fake-why-do-you-keep-buying-it/?sh=282def4f639d
- Yeah it's like how the Champaign region has brutalised it's soil with over production and now produces substandard grapes compared to other regions but due to established customs can charge the most.
  Cheese makes even less sense as the original taste was down to the quality of the dairy and the process of making it - both of which have changed totally and are easily replicatable, though fake cheese is potentially dangerous if made unlicenced because God knows what corners they could cut - I don't want to eat something full of reminant cleaning products and deadly pathogens.
  Really then avoiding over-priced prestige products is the best choice economically, medically, and morally (I'll skip the essay on that but the main point is it's funding greed and establishing a classist normal which is something we should be moving away from).
- Considering they charge arm an a leg for the damn thing no wonder. Also wait until you find out there are fake eggs mass produced in China. That will mind-stop you.
  
  I'm concerned. At least fake cheese is real cheese. What's lower cost than using hens to produce eggs?
- Legally it's only cheese if it comes from the "Formaggi" region in Italy. Otherwise it has to be called "bad milk product".

This is the best summary I could come up with:
The next time you dig into a bowl of pasta with freshly grated parmesan, you could accidentally be eating a microchip.
That's because makers of Parmigiano-Reggiano are implanting microchips into the casings of their 90-pound cheese wheels as the latest move to ward off counterfeiters, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Parmigiano-Reggiano must be made in a particular area of northern Italy's Emilia Romagna region and with specific production standards and techniques.
The microchip can then be scanned to pull up a unique serial ID that buyers can use to ensure they've got the real thing.
"We keep fighting with new methods," Alberto Pecorari, whose job is to protect the product's authenticity for a group that represents Parmigiano makers, told the Journal.
Parmigiano-Reggiano is among the many food products that are formally protected in the European Union, including Champagne from France and Feta from Greece.
The original article contains 324 words, the summary contains 144 words. Saved 56%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!
- Good bot!

I knew this was how Bill Gates would get us. Through our spaghetti and meatballs.
- They found our one weakness.

Now I want to try it... 🤤

The microchips aren’t edible because they want you to eat them. They’re edible because they know some idiot eventually will eat one.
- Assuming this is even real, someone is conflating the concept of "food grade" with being edible.

Are we not all chipped anyways through the civic vaccine? /s
- Thankfully countries voted to avoid that during the meeting of the Honda Accords.

TIL that counterfeit fucking cheese is a thing.
- Well one wheel of the cheese costs $1000
  
  I know a bloke who'll just squash a load of cheddar together for you for about 40 bucks. We call him big cheese.

So if you eat the chip, does it mean you officially become a wheel of cheese?
- If you start eating packaging like stickers glued to the rind of cheese, I think you can legally be considered a kind of human-goat hybrid.
- My networth would increase if you value the cheese-turned-fat at parmigiano market value.
- So if you eat the chip, does it mean you officially become a wheel of cheese?
  Depends if you have been a real or a fake person before... ;-)
- No but you do become the property of a man in Italy

OMG! That's what those crystals are!
- What are you talking about, Jesse?
  
  I use chilli powder as my signature yo

Can't wait for the nutcases to come out of woodwork and claim this is a way to control the population 🙈

Sure why not? Add to the delicious medley of microplastics and persistent organic pollutants, what could go wrong!

My Parmesan cheese comes from Wisconsin and I think it's good.
- The more local cheese makers the better, as long as it does not call itself Parmigiano-Reggiano.

The COVID vaccines were a distraction; this is where the chips are really going

Great, now I can scan my poop.

Pecorino Romano is better anyways
- Agreed. We can enjoy both cheeses but don't put Pecorino on a Caesar. Love Pecorino.

I wonder how close they are to realm parmesan, those counterfeited cheeses.
Parmigiano Reggiano is truly something special.
- There exist (cheaper) cheeses made in a similar style, but no serious manufacturer will call it Parmigiano Reggiano, or even Parmesan. Usually have their own brand.
  Or you can make your own https://youtu.be/s1k1w7SnNEY
  
  Worth noting that they use microchips because blind taste tests, chemical analysis, and any other comparison demonstrates that copies are indistinguishable - if you buy prestige food products you're almost certainly just wasting money

Jfc the people in this thread refuse to read
T h e m I c r o c h I p I s I n t h e c a s I n g n o t t h e c h e e s e

If the microchip just contains a unique serial ID you can check with the producer, it would be just as easy to print it in the casing or glue it to the side of the wheel, no need to implant it in the outermost layer of cheese.
- It is just glued on it. It's just on the label, not implanted inside the cheese wheel. The "you could be eating microchips!!!" part of the article is pure clickbait.
  All they say is they'd be safe to eat if for some reason it ended up in the cheese. Like the rest of the label I guess.
- It is glued to the side... The article is just bullshit.