Parmigiano-Reggiano makers are putting edible microchips the size of a grain of sand into their 90-pound cheese wheels to combat counterfeiters

Physical products are the only ones that makes sense for DRM.

Blockchain-based cheese DRM! 😂

DRM? More like DOC!

That makes it sound like the "edible" aspect of this is just an anti idiot feature. *Or just "printed" on it.

Either way, pointless article.

unless you buy whole 40kg wheel and then eat it with the rind

Haha no of course not...

Some people add the rind to broths.

You seems to be someone that don't eat parmesan cheese.

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.

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.

I don't know, can you make a JPEG of the cheese wheel and then put the hyperlink on the blockchain? Maybe make it so I can import the cheese in a shitty MMO that nobody actually wants to play?

Actually an "HP boost" refers to using fake Hewlett-Packard ink cartridges that circumvent their ink-jet printer DRM. 😁

Hey, don't knock it till you try it

as other people pointed out, is a sticker on the outside, on the hard part.

unless you are very hungry and have good teeth, you will not eat it.

yet, since is applied on edible product, it needs to be edible.

You won't be eating any, read again.

You wouldn't even notice.

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

That’s because makers of Parmigiano-Reggiano are implanting microchips into the casings of their 90-pound cheese wheels as the latest move to ward off counterfeiters, The Wall Street Journal reported.

If it's just going in the casings, then it wouldn't be eaten I guess?

Okay...

That still begs the question, why are they considered edible? Are people eating the labels? 🤔

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.

What?

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?).

Introducing: the Mish network!

It's not a brand name but a regionally protected signifier. Like champagne.

It's not Parmigiana-Reggiano if it doesn't come from the Parmigiana-Reggiano region of France. Everything else is just sparkling cheese.

And olive oil and cigarettes and... Anything else really.

Wait till you find out about fake eggs (etc) in china

EU has lots of protected origin products.

Have you not tried Velveeta?

Yea, many swiss brands have problems protecting their IP in America. Just recently Emmentaler lost its IP there, because Emmentaler describes a sort of cheese which is like our Swiss Emmentaler in America vs here in Switzerland only cheese from the Emmental is allowed to be called a Emmentaler.

Thank China for that.

Those chips are only good for mind control

The cheese is ruined when they make it magnetic, of course

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.

You really don't want to buy counterfeit food.

Just wait until you hear about olive oil.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/ceciliarodriguez/2016/02/10/the-olive-oil-scam-if-80-is-fake-why-do-you-keep-buying-it/?sh=282def4f639d

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.

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).

Legally it's only cheese if it comes from the "Formaggi" region in Italy. Otherwise it has to be called "bad milk product".

Good bot!

They found our one weakness.

Assuming this is even real, someone is conflating the concept of "food grade" with being edible.

Thankfully countries voted to avoid that during the meeting of the Honda Accords.

Well one wheel of the cheese costs $1000

If you start eating packaging like stickers glued to the rind of cheese, I think you can legally be considered a kind of human-goat hybrid.

My networth would increase if you value the cheese-turned-fat at parmigiano market value.

So if you eat the chip, does it mean you officially become a wheel of cheese?

Depends if you have been a real or a fake person before... ;-)

No but you do become the property of a man in Italy

What are you talking about, Jesse?

The more local cheese makers the better, as long as it does not call itself Parmigiano-Reggiano.

There exist (cheaper) cheeses made in a similar style, but no serious manufacturer will call it Parmigiano Reggiano, or even Parmesan. Usually have their own brand.

Or you can make your own https://youtu.be/s1k1w7SnNEY

It is just glued on it. It's just on the label, not implanted inside the cheese wheel. The "you could be eating microchips!!!" part of the article is pure clickbait.

All they say is they'd be safe to eat if for some reason it ended up in the cheese. Like the rest of the label I guess.

It is glued to the side... The article is just bullshit.