Next Time You Buy Parmesan, Watch Out for the Microchip
QR codes are also proliferating, including on individual portions of pre-sliced Prosciutto di San Daniele, a raw ham similar to Prosciutto di Parma. A smartphone can be used to show information such as how long the prosciutto has been aged and when it was sliced.
Food fraud is particularly rampant for cheese and wine, but is also common with fresh and cured meats, fish and produce. In addition to fighting against products that fraudulently present themselves as the European original, the EU is also waging battles over the naming rights of cheeses and other products, trying to stop other countries from using names such as Champagne, feta and Gouda.
“This likely will be a never-ending situation," said Rita Tardiolo, a lawyer with Bird & Bird in Milan who defends food-producing consortia, including those making Parmigiano and Prosecco wine. Even though fake food products are unlikely ever to be eliminated completely, the regulations that come with protected status play a fundamental role in helping producers of the originals, Tardiolo said.
Once a company selling knockoffs is identified, her law firm has used various methods to try to get them to stop production, including trying to overwhelm the illegal producer with lawsuits in many different jurisdictions simultaneously. Parmigiano producers have called on police, food specialists and internet sleuths in their forever war to protect their wheels, which in some cases can cost more than €1,000.
Parmigiano is so precious that for years producers also battled thieves who in the dead of night were stealing the wheels as they aged in warehouses. The new silicon chips, made by Chicago-based p-Chip, use blockchain technology to authenticate data that can trace the cheese as far
. Read more on livemint.com
