Blockchain in the cheese rind: Using microchips to combat parmesan counterfeiting

Millions can be earned with original Italian Parmesan – a wheel of cheese can cost up to 1000 euros. A prime target for product piracy. Microchips in the cheese are intended to prevent cheap copies. They are even said to be edible.

Parmesan is simply a must with spaghetti with tomato sauce. When we talk about Parmesan, we actually mean Parmigiano Reggiano. This is hard cheese from a specific region in northern Italy. Made only with milk from cows in the provinces of Parma, Reggio Emilia, Modena, Bologna and Mantua. There are around 300 cheese dairies there.

The cheese must have matured for at least a year. The name is protected by the Italian seal of origin Denominazione di Origine Protetta (DOP), which translated means: protected designation of origin. These also carry Italian Parma ham, Greek feta cheese or French champagne.

People all over the world love these cheeses: Parmigiano Reggiano set a sales record last year. 156,620 tons were sold, 2.6 percent more than in the previous year. Almost every second wheel of cheese is exported beyond Italy’s borders. Sales rose by almost seven percent to 2.9 billion euros.

“Banks protect themselves with Parmesan”

“It’s a huge sales volume that’s happening here,” says Johannes Einzenberger, qualified cheese sommelier and chairman of the Austrian Cheese Sommelier Association, in the ntv podcast “Learned something again”. For a wheel of cheese you usually pay between 25 and 40 euros, for a more mature wheel that has been stored for 4 or 5 years, even between 800 and 1000 euros. “Banks are even hedging on Parmesan because it’s an incredible and relatively stable value.”

This huge Parmesan business attracts counterfeiters. It is estimated that they recently earned around two billion US dollars from imitation cheese Parmigiano Consortium according to the “Guardians”.

Visually faking a whole wheel of Parmigiano is quite a task. The cheese has a number of unique identifying features to prevent copies. “We have branding in the bark, the lettering Parmigiano Reggiano and the logo of the consortium. If a certain minimum number of points is achieved in the tasting, then you also get the branding from the consortium. There is a company number in it, a consecutive number for each Parmesan cheese and “In addition, the producer’s tax number,” says Einzenberger.

The fact that the loaves are rarely sold as a whole, but rather individual pieces or even already grated, makes it easier for counterfeiters. Without the original rind, it’s hard to tell where the Parmesan comes from. Even if certain information must be provided on the packaging, such as the approval number.

Despite this elaborate labeling, cheap counterfeits continue to appear. Einzenberger suspects that it is less so in Europe, but rather in America and Asia. More and more Parmesan is being exported to international markets.

Test with microchips the size of a grain of sand

The Parmigiano Consortium has come up with a new method to better protect its producers’ cheese. They want to put microchips in the cheese. The chips are as small as a grain of sand, 0.5 by 0.5 millimeters in size, and are food-safe. They are embedded in a QR code label and use blockchain technology. They can be read using a laser. A serial number is stored on the chips. This shows which producer the cheese comes from – and whether it is real or not.

The microchips were manufactured by the US company p-Chip Corporation. As a test, the chips were inserted into the bark of 120,000 Parmigiano-Reggiano wheels. “It’s not an easy process because the bark only becomes stronger and thicker during production. You have to see that the chips are in the bark and not inside. But it can be done,” says Enzenberger in the podcast. They survive the maturation process better than QR codes or RFID systems – which are on credit cards, for example.

You don’t normally eat the Parmesan rind. But if it does end up in your stomach, it’s not a concern, according to the manufacturer. In tests, the chip did not release any dangerous substances in stomach acid even after three weeks. The cheese sommelier believes that the Parmesan Consortium’s plan in the fight against counterfeits makes sense, but he fears mistrust on the part of consumers.

Precedent for Food Safety Commission

Microchips in cheese are new territory for the EU; there is currently no regulation on technology in food. European food law is strict and changes take a long time. Einzenberger believes such an adjustment could take at least two years.

However, the cheese sommelier sees a loophole for chipped cheese: “We have the option of stating this on the packaging if the rind is not suitable for consumption.” This is also the case with other types of cheese. Another possibility is a precedent. “You have to put something like this on the market and only then would there be attention. The EU Food Safety Commission would react and say, okay, that’s fine.”

It remains to be seen whether the microchips in Parmigiano really provide better protection than the usual brands and numbers. Because they are also inserted into the bark, which counterfeiters can simply cut off.

Nevertheless, Italy could be a role model for other manufacturers. After all, food fraud costs the industry up to 100,000 per year worldwide 13 billion euros. The microchips can also be used for Fruit, vegetables or fish be used, says the manufacturer. But also for products other than food: such as farm animals, plants, medicines or medical devices. They are also already being tested in the automotive industry. This can be used to ensure that the car parts installed are really genuine.