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FOOD AND DRINK

Parmigiano cheesemakers roll out edible microchip to fight fakes

The revered and centuries-old Parmigiano Reggiano now comes with crime-fighting technology. But don't worry, you won't get a mouthful of chips with your cheese.

Parmigiano cheesemakers roll out edible microchip to fight fakes
A worker cuts a wheel of Parmigiano Reggiano cheese at the Casearia Castelli. (Photo by Marco BERTORELLO / AFP)

Italian cheesemakers have installed a microchip the size of a grain of salt into their world-famous Parmigiano Reggiano cheese to fight food fraudsters.

In a century of trying to battle off cheaper imitations, the Consortium for Parmigiano Reggiano cheese has stepped up its efforts with this latest innovation.

As a product that costs nearly 20 euros per kilogram on average in Italy (depending on age), replicating a cheaper version is lucrative.

The PRC estimated that the earnings from counterfeit cheese netted about around 1.84 billion euros last year.

READ ALSO: What are the rules on bringing cheeses and meats to the US from Italy?

In a bid to stop the cheese copycats, the Consortium in March launched the digital label to “make Parmigiano Reggiano PDO even more traceable and secure”.

PDO refers to the Protected Designation of Origin status (in Italian, DOP) and is awarded to foods produced in a certain geographical area with recognised skills.

In the case of Parmigiano Reggiano, it’s only granted to a limited number of cheese producers.

This protected status is exactly what makes Parmigiano Reggiano authentic and makes any cheese not following the Consortium’s strict guidelines a knock-off.

READ ALSO: Ask an expert: ‘What’s the difference between Italy’s Parmigiano Reggiano and parmesan cheese?’

Parmigiano Reggiano is made in an area that includes three cities – Parma, Reggio Emilia, and Modena.

The first two cities gave the cheese its name, where most of the cheese production takes place across around 350 dairy farms.

Over the past three months, the cheese producers have experimented with the microchip on roughly 120,000 wheels, each weighing approximately 40kg.

Now, talks are underway to extend the technology to the entire production.

READ ALSO: Italian man crushed to death by falling cheese wheels

Speaking to the Wall Street Journal on Thursday,  Alberto Pecorari, from the PRC, said, “We keep fighting with new methods. We won’t give up.”

Social media users have expressed concern about potentially eating a microchip, which is however food-safe and unlikely to be ingested as it’s inserted into the hard rind.

Employing a micro piece of technology is the newest attempt to verify the cheese’s origin. The previous method of stamping a unique and sequential alphanumeric code showing the month and year of production hasn’t thwarted fraudsters.

“Since the Consortium was established in 1934, we have been at the forefront in promoting and defending its authenticity and communicating worldwide the differences with similar products that do not meet the strict PDO requirements,” Nicola Bertinelli, president of the Consortium told Italian newspaper La Repubblica.

“We are proud to be the first Protection Consortium to introduce these labels, digital and secure, to guarantee an even more protected and traced product.”

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ITALY EXPLAINED

Why you don’t need to leave large tips at Italian restaurants

Many visitors from the US leave a generous tip as standard when dining out in Italy, while others say no tip is necessary. So what are the rules and how much should you really leave?

Why you don’t need to leave large tips at Italian restaurants

American tourists, coming from the land of mandatory tip culture, are prone to reflexively tipping 20 percent or more wherever they travel in the world. And many would be aghast at the idea of not leaving a tip at all.

But in Italy, as regular visitors know, tipping really is not required or expected

Visitors are sometimes confused about this because staff at some restaurants encourage American visitors to tip generously by suggesting that it is, in fact, the norm.

If Italians tip, they do so occasionally for good service, and making a habit of tipping modestly when dining out in the country will help you blend in better with the locals.

Why don’t Italians tip in restaurants?

If you come from a country where tipping is expected it can feel uncomfortable not to do so.

But there are a couple of reasons why Italians don’t usually tip – or if they do, they leave a moderate amount.

Reader question: How do I know if I should tip at Italian restaurants?

Italian restaurant bills often already include small service charges, normally of a couple of euros per head, which will be listed as servizio on the bill.

(You might also see a ‘coperto’ or cover charge, which is not specifically a service charge. This goes to the restaurant rather than the server.)

And Italy doesn’t have much of a tipping culture simply because Italian wait staff aren’t reliant on tips to get by like they are in many parts of the US. 

As is the case elsewhere in Europe, they are paid a standard wage and any tips are viewed as an added extra.

So, while tipping is always appreciated, rest assured that it’s entirely your choice (beyond servizio charges.)

What if I want to tip anyway?

Italians might tip in recognition of standout service and when there’s no servizio charge listed.

But tipping here is modest: it would be very unusual to leave 20 percent or even more.

You can leave an Italian-style tip in the form of a couple of extra euros per person, or by rounding the bill up to the nearest five or ten.

READ ALSO: What are the rules on tipping in Italy?

If you’re paying by card, bear in mind that very few places will be able to add a tip to the card payment – so you might want to carry some change or small notes with you.

What if the waiter asks for a tip?

It’s not unheard of for wait staff at some restaurants in tourist hotspots to suggest that tipping is a requirement in Italy, or even to tell customers that “service is not included”.

Restaurant staff in popular destinations are of course well aware of the generous amounts commonly left by some overseas visitors – and some do try to encourage this.

While this tactic leaves some customers unimpressed and less likely to tip, others say they feel pressured and end up tipping just in case.

If there’s no servizio charge on the bill, it may be technically true that service is not included.

But tipping is always at the customer’s discretion in Italy, and staff at reputable restaurants don’t tend to ask.

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