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Parmigiano Reggiano makers embedding tiny trackers in rind to fight cheese fraud

foodandwine.com

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Re: Parmigiano Reggiano makers embedding tiny trackers in rind to fight cheese fraud

#41

Post by burnished »

moistly wrote: post #18
vfclists wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

try me!! What if it gets fed to some pet or farm animal?

I suppose they might be mistaken for fine Parmesan cheese. Otherwise they’ll be fine. Have you not noticed what your dog will happily eat off the ground when you’re out for a walk? Discarded socks, gravel, bits of plastic, cat shit, gum wrappers, literally anything that catches its eye when you’re not paying close attention.

Oh that took me back to wrestling a cigarette butt out of a baby pugs eager little mouth. Honestly if that dog had taken to eating tiny electronics it probably would have been a net improvement.

Re: Parmigiano Reggiano makers embedding tiny trackers in rind to fight cheese fraud

#42

Post by masklinn »

blamazon wrote: post #40
jihadjihad wrote: post #25

OT, but I just have to say, as someone who buys "Parmesan" cheese that typically hails from Wisconsin, there is just no comparison with legit Parmigiano-Reggiano. It's the same with "Gruyere" and Gruyère -- a wholly unique cheese with a depth of flavor and character that is just inimitable, no matter how good or faithful the imitation may be. That being said, I'm not ashamed at all to say that the Parmesan I use most…

My most common consumption method for Parmigiano-Reggiano is standing in front of my fridge at 2am breaking chunks off the wedge, with a squeeze bottle of honey and whatever berries I have on hand. Can recommend.

You absolute degenerate.

That sounds delicious.

Re: Parmigiano Reggiano makers embedding tiny trackers in rind to fight cheese fraud

#43

Post by karaterobot »

> according to the Parmigiano Reggiano Consortium (the official trade group for the cheese) the amount of fraud is almost as big as product sales: Authentic Parmigiano Reggiano sales are around $2.44 billion while fraudulent cheese is a $2.08 billion market.

I wonder what they consider fraud. Is it that anything which says "parmesan cheese" on it without being official Parmigiano Reggiano is considered fraud? That is to say, the Kraft Parmesan they mentioned earlier would count as cheese fraud (I don't think it is, since as they say nobody is confused about what they're getting).

Or, do they literally mean there is as much cheese sold under the false pretense of being Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, with fake stamps and serial numbers, and so on?

Re: Parmigiano Reggiano makers embedding tiny trackers in rind to fight cheese fraud

#44

Post by [deleted] »

mmanfrin wrote: post #31
rocqua wrote: post #22

I am all for trademarks. But 'only things made here can have this name' is silly protectionism. Adding electronics to 'fix fraud' really is just worsening the original product. If this goes through I would prefer the fraudulent stuff over the real deal.

You are free to buy or produce a hard dry sheep's cheese that isn't made in Emilia-Romagna. The name 'Parmesan' is a portmanteau of parts of the region (Parma, Reggio Emilia). The name is the region so saying 'only thing made here can have *the name of the region*' is absolutely not "silly protectionism".

[deleted]

Re: Parmigiano Reggiano makers embedding tiny trackers in rind to fight cheese fraud

#45

Post by peoplefromibiza »

rocqua wrote: post #22

I am all for trademarks. But 'only things made here can have this name' is silly protectionism. Adding electronics to 'fix fraud' really is just worsening the original product. If this goes through I would prefer the fraudulent stuff over the real deal.

> is silly protectionism

It's not silly.

It's protecting the buyers from frauds.

Parmigiano-Reggiano is made in Emilia Romagna, in the Parma-Reggio (Emilia) area.

That's the only real deal.

Like Champagne which is made only in the Champagne wine region in France.

If it's not from there, it's not the same product.

It might even be better according to personal taste, for example I prefer Franciacorta, which is from Franciacorta region in Lombardy.

But it's not Champagne and can't be named after it.

Can I call my search engine Google and act like I am the real Google?

I guess not...

Re: Parmigiano Reggiano makers embedding tiny trackers in rind to fight cheese fraud

#46

Post by gffrd »

mmanfrin wrote: post #31
rocqua wrote: post #22

I am all for trademarks. But 'only things made here can have this name' is silly protectionism. Adding electronics to 'fix fraud' really is just worsening the original product. If this goes through I would prefer the fraudulent stuff over the real deal.

You are free to buy or produce a hard dry sheep's cheese that isn't made in Emilia-Romagna. The name 'Parmesan' is a portmanteau of parts of the region (Parma, Reggio Emilia). The name is the region so saying 'only thing made here can have *the name of the region*' is absolutely not "silly protectionism".

"Mmm, this Bordeaux is delicious!"

"Do you mean 'Cabernet blend?' "

Re: Parmigiano Reggiano makers embedding tiny trackers in rind to fight cheese fraud

#47

Post by wahnfrieden »

fatnoah wrote: post #34
jihadjihad wrote: post #25

OT, but I just have to say, as someone who buys "Parmesan" cheese that typically hails from Wisconsin, there is just no comparison with legit Parmigiano-Reggiano. It's the same with "Gruyere" and Gruyère -- a wholly unique cheese with a depth of flavor and character that is just inimitable, no matter how good or faithful the imitation may be. That being said, I'm not ashamed at all to say that the Parmesan I use most…

One thing I miss about my old place in the city was the ridiculously expensive market on my block that carried all of the "real" cheese. The real stuff was so fantastic and flavorful that I usually used far less of it, which partially offset the cost. I also got a $20 jar of pasta sauce there once. I was embarrassed at how much I paid and didn't tell my wife. After her first taste, her reaction was "OMG, what is this…

Pianogrillo?

Re: Parmigiano Reggiano makers embedding tiny trackers in rind to fight cheese fraud

#48

Post by lupire »

zepearl wrote: post #38
4oo4 wrote: post #23

You had me at cheese but lost me at blockchain.

:) I didn't understand it either. Maybe the blockchain crypto-anchor that creates a digital 'twin' for physical items would then create that "anchor" (like creating a bitcoin) that can then be linked (traced back) to its source (and intermediate steps like reselling/processing) when the cheese is finally sold in some form?

That works even if you remove the "Blockchain".

Re: Parmigiano Reggiano makers embedding tiny trackers in rind to fight cheese fraud

#49

Post by stephenhuey »

mmanfrin wrote: post #31
rocqua wrote: post #22

I am all for trademarks. But 'only things made here can have this name' is silly protectionism. Adding electronics to 'fix fraud' really is just worsening the original product. If this goes through I would prefer the fraudulent stuff over the real deal.

You are free to buy or produce a hard dry sheep's cheese that isn't made in Emilia-Romagna. The name 'Parmesan' is a portmanteau of parts of the region (Parma, Reggio Emilia). The name is the region so saying 'only thing made here can have *the name of the region*' is absolutely not "silly protectionism".

Exactly. Nuances in the region such as grass and soil can affect the final flavor of the cheese. In the same way, chocolate from Mozambique is very unique, and I expect when a bag of coffee says Ethiopia or Costa Rica on it, it really ought to be from that places. The places grown truly affect the flavor for single-origin products, but it won’t matter so much if you’re consuming cocoa or coffee that’s blandly mixed together from different regions.

Re: Parmigiano Reggiano makers embedding tiny trackers in rind to fight cheese fraud

#50

Post by lupire »

learndeeply wrote: post #13
FourHand451 wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Typically you don't eat the rind on this kind of cheese.

It's a waste if you're not. https://www.eataly.com/us_en/magazine/how-to/leftover-parmes...

None of those are eating the rind. They are putting the wine in broth for seasoning.
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