Abstract
Parmigiano Reggiano is an Italian product with a protected designation of origin (P.D.O.). It is an aged hard cheese made from raw milk. P.D.O. products are protected by European regulations. Approximately 3 million wheels are produced each year, and the product attracts a relevant premium price due to its quality and all around the world well known typicity. Due to the high demand that exceeds the production, several fraudulent products can be found on the market. The rate of fraud is estimated between 20% and 40%, the latter predominantly in the grated form. We have developed a non-target method based on Liquid Chomatography-High Resolution Mass Spectrometry (LC-HRMS) that allows the discrimination of Parmigiano Reggiano from non-authentic products with milk from different geographical origins or products, where other aspects of the production process do not comply with the rules laid down in the production specifications for Parmeggiano Reggiano. Based on a database created with authentic samples provided by the Consortium of Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese, a reliable classification model was built. The overall classification capabilities of this non-targeted method was verified on 32 grated cheese samples. The classification was 87.5% accurate.
Highlights
The United States Pharmacopeial Convention (USP) Food Fraud Database [1] carries no less than 474 entries on milk and milk products for the years 2000 to 2015, and milk product adulteration and/or misrepresentation is the second most frequently reported issue.European legislation prohibits the misrepresentation of products
To identify fraudulent products presented as Parmigiano Reggiano (P.D.O.) but containing milk
To identify fraudulent products presented as Parmigiano Reggiano (P.D.O.) but containing milk from regions other than Northern Italy, this non-targeted method was developed
Summary
The United States Pharmacopeial Convention (USP) Food Fraud Database [1] carries no less than 474 entries on milk and milk products for the years 2000 to 2015, and milk product adulteration and/or misrepresentation is the second most frequently reported issue.European legislation prohibits the misrepresentation of products. The United States Pharmacopeial Convention (USP) Food Fraud Database [1] carries no less than 474 entries on milk and milk products for the years 2000 to 2015, and milk product adulteration and/or misrepresentation is the second most frequently reported issue. Beyond the general food safety regulation of the European Commission (EC) 178/2002 [2], the European Commission has implemented a regulation that is commonly known as Consumer Information Regulation EC 1169/2011 [3]. One of the important aspects of this regulation is to provide information to the final consumer that is not misleading. In the reasoning for this regulation (the “whereas” section) it states: “Food information law should prohibit the use of information that would mislead the consumer in particular as to the characteristics of the food, food effects or properties, or attribute medicinal properties to foods. That prohibition should apply to the advertising and presentation of foods.”
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