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.
I got to admit, Italians inventing Cheese DRM, wasn’t on my 2023 Bingo card.
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Bolognese always clogs my fiber lines. Do not recommend downloading.
Physical products are the only ones that makes sense for DRM.
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 :)
There was a joke in there?
There was a joke in there?
I thought there must be, otherwise it would be a deep misunderstanding of what the ship of Theseus is
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
and much more… centralized? But let’s also just ignore the part where it’s described as generally more secure as well.
The cheese makers are not concerned about decentralization. Presumably they trust themselves, because they are the only ones trusted to write to the database. If they are the only ones allowed to put something on the chain, it’s a central database, regardless of how many computers/places they run it on.
Blockchain is not magically more secure than any other equivalent cryptographic solution.
Most commercial non-crypto blockchains I’ve seen only have a couple of nodes connected, usually held by a single entity. In these cases it’s no less centralised than any alternative write-only DB.
and much more… centralized?
it being centralized dosent mean its bad. theres also the fact that many processes are centralized by the nature of how they work.
it’s described as generally more secure as well.
why would that be?
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
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?
Nothing enhances that Mediterranean flavor quite like micro plastics
Maybe I’m a picker eater, but I think I’d rather have an inauthentic product than eating a microchip.
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
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.
You wouldn’t even notice.
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? 🤔
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Interesting. So how long before you become an official scannable wheel of cheese? 🤔
Could he claim to officially identify as a parmigiano reggiano cheese?
Not sure, we should cut him open and taste to confirm.
Probably because otherwise people would be like “yOuRe PuTtInG mEtAl IN mY cHEeSe”
Even if it’s just the size of a grain of sand, I don’t want to worry about biting down on that.
I would too, but it goes in the shell/outside that goes around the cheese wheel, not in the cheese itself
I’m just saying, there’s a reason we’re not allowed to have kinder surprise eggs in the US. If we can find a way to hurt ourselves with food we will. And then we will sue.
I mean… yeah. That is a very reasonable concern.
It is if it’s anywhere that’s eaten it is, but the outer rim of the cheese wheel doesn’t get eaten
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.
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.
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You’re talking about market economics on a site full of tankies.
Well the counterfeit versions don’t have microchips in them.
Neither does this cheese, if you read the article the microchips are in the casing
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What?
Lol, cheese DRM. Just when I thought more DRM was impossible.
The conspiracy theorists are going to run wild with this one.
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”?
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Next up. Improve your wireless network with cheese.
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
My friend, it’s food. You put into your body. Do you really need to ask why it’s a huge breach of trust?
But putting microchips in your body is ok? Seems to me the counterfeit cheese is now better for me.
I see your point, but both wheels are questionable in different ways.
Making your own product worse to own the counterfeiters.
Its what the gaming and film industry have done for decades
This is like complaining that they changed the ink to print the labels with.
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.
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?
Even lower cost, mass production, fuck knows. Am concerned as well.
You should pressure-wash your asshole.
Thank you for taking an interest.
Legally it’s only cheese if it comes from the “Formaggi” region in Italy. Otherwise it has to be called “bad milk product”.
TIL that counterfeit fucking cheese is a thing.
Well one wheel of the cheese costs $1000
