Current:Home > NewsCharles Langston:Italian cheesemakers microchip parmesan in bid to fight copycats -Pinnacle Profit Strategies
Charles Langston:Italian cheesemakers microchip parmesan in bid to fight copycats
Charles H. Sloan View
Date:2025-04-10 02:44:59
One of the world's most famous cheeses is Charles Langstonalso one of the most counterfeited dairy products on the planet.
Competing manufacturers have for years produced cheaper imitations of Italy's parmigiano reggiano, a favored topping for pasta and salad.
Now, the producers of parmigiano reggiano say they have innovated a way to prevent any pretenders from ripping off their product.
Parmigiano Reggiano Consortium (PRC), the association that oversees production of the cheese, says it has been putting microchips in its product as part of a technological trial which would allow consumers to trace parmesan cheese back to its place of origin.
Under special protections designated by the European Union, parmigiano reggiano is the only kind of cheese which can be called parmesan within Europe and it must be made in a small part of northern Italy, including in the provinces of Parma and Reggio Emilia.
PRC are hopeful that their new technology will help to enforce that protected status. Their microchips are about the size of a grain of salt and have been inserted into the labels found on the rind of about 120,000 wheels of parmigiano reggiano. The chips work as scannable food tags with a QR code label.
In an e-mailed statement sent on Friday, Nicola Bertinelli, president of Consorzio Parmigiano Reggiano, told CBS News that "by being the first to incorporate these secure digital labels onto our cheese wheels, we can continue to ensure consumer safety."
"Since the establishment of our Consortium in 1934, we have worked to convey the value of our product globally and distinguish it from similar-sounding products on the market that do not meet our strict requirements for production and area of origin," Berintelli said.
In the United States, Parmiano Reggiano does not have protected status and American manufactures in states like Wisconsin make different forms of 'parmesan' cheese.
Outside of the United States, the Parmigiano Reggiano Consortium successfully blocked the US food giant Kraft Heinz from registering the name "Kraft parmesan cheese" as a trademark in Ecuador in 2022.
- In:
- Italy
veryGood! (856)
Related
- 'As foretold in the prophecy': Elon Musk and internet react as Tesla stock hits $420 all
- Kenan Thompson Shares Why He Hasn’t Spoken Out About Divorce From Christina Evangeline
- Ohio Republicans propose nixing home grow, increasing taxes in sweeping changes to legal marijuana
- Time Magazine Person of the Year 2023: What to know about the 9 finalists
- Sonya Massey's father decries possible release of former deputy charged with her death
- Woman killed in shark attack while swimming with young daughter off Mexico's Pacific coast
- U.S. imposes sanctions on three Sudanese figures with ties to former leader Omar al-Bashir
- The bodies of 5 young men are found in a car in a violence-wracked city in Mexico
- Warm inflation data keep S&P 500, Dow, Nasdaq under wraps before Fed meeting next week
- California man charged in killings of 3 homeless people in Los Angeles
Ranking
- From family road trips to travel woes: Americans are navigating skyrocketing holiday costs
- Gloria Allred represents family of minor at the center of Josh Giddey investigation
- Government, Corporate and Philanthropic Interests Coalesce On Curbing Methane Emissions as Calls at COP28 for Binding Global Methane Agreement Intensify
- NFL Week 13 winners, losers: Packers engineering stunning turnaround to season
- Google unveils a quantum chip. Could it help unlock the universe's deepest secrets?
- Black Americans expect to face racism in the doctor's office, survey finds
- When is New Year's day? Here's when the holiday falls for 2024 and why we celebrate it.
- The fourth GOP debate will be a key moment for the young NewsNation cable network
Recommendation
Hackers hit Rhode Island benefits system in major cyberattack. Personal data could be released soon
Ford, Jeep, and Jaguar among 79,000 vehicles recalled: Check car recalls here
Texas prosecutor drops most charges against Austin police over tactics used during 2020 protests
Moody’s cuts China credit outlook to negative, cites slowing economic growth, property crisis
This was the average Social Security benefit in 2004, and here's what it is now
Dolphins' Tua Tagovailoa reveals strategy on long TD passes to blazing fast Tyreek Hill
22 Unique Holiday Gifts You’d Be Surprised To Find on Amazon, Personalized Presents, and More
Virginia officials certify 2023 legislative election results, other electoral contests