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.

  • Terr@lemmy.ml
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    2 years ago

    I got to admit, Italians inventing Cheese DRM, wasn’t on my 2023 Bingo card.

  • Double_A@discuss.tchncs.de
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    2 years ago

    For fucks sake… This is literally about an RFID sticker that is put on the outside of whole cheese wheels.

    So unless you buy whole 40kg wheel and then eat it with the rind… you are not eating any.

    And also fuck that article for even mentioning that.

    • N1NJ4W4RR10R_@aussie.zone
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      2 years ago

      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.

      • _s10e@feddit.de
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        2 years ago

        I believe regulations require that everything you put in or on food is technically editable. Like the paper stickers on bread or produce. They are disgusting, but if you or your child accidentally eats them, they are fine.

      • Meowoem@sh.itjust.works
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        2 years ago

        Alex Jones will yell about the headline and say Soros is microchipping food and if you eat cheese the 5g vaccine will do a false flag and turn the frogs even gayer.

    • pimento64@sopuli.xyz
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      2 years ago

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

      Haha no of course not…

  • dhork@lemmy.world
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    2 years ago

    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

    • June@lemm.ee
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      2 years ago

      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.

      • Helluin@lemm.ee
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        2 years ago

        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

        • utopianrevolt@lemmy.world
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          2 years ago

          and much more… centralized? But let’s also just ignore the part where it’s described as generally more secure as well.

          • FooBarrington@lemmy.world
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            2 years ago

            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.

          • turmacar@lemmy.world
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            2 years ago

            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.

    • Edgelord_Of_Tomorrow@lemmy.world
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      2 years ago

      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.

    • Otter@lemmy.ca
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      2 years ago

      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?

      • Meowoem@sh.itjust.works
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        2 years ago

        They don’t read the article though so as far as they’re concerned this proves jet fuel can’t melt 5G COVID

  • Gork@lemm.ee
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    2 years ago

    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?

    • Curious Canid@lemmy.ca
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      2 years ago

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

  • 𝜏au@discuss.tchncs.de
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    2 years ago

    To save you a click (although none of the other commenters seem to have read the article anyway): The microchips aren’t embedded into the actual cheese that you eat, but are part of the label attached to the outside rind. Nobody will be eating microchips.

  • Kokesh@lemmy.world
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    2 years ago

    Can’t wait for the nutcases to come out of woodwork and claim this is a way to control the population 🙈

  • spittingimage@lemmy.world
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    2 years ago

    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.

    • FooBarrington@lemmy.world
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      2 years ago

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

  • stevedidWHAT@lemmy.world
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    2 years ago

    Jfc the people in this thread refuse to read

    T h e m I c r o c h I p I s I n t h e c a s I n g n o t t h e c h e e s e

  • Marxism-Fennekinism@lemmy.ml
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    2 years ago

    Sure why not? Add to the delicious medley of microplastics and persistent organic pollutants, what could go wrong!