The Consortium for the Protection of Mozzarella di Bufala Campana Dop will use artificial intelligence for its surveillance activity against fake mozzarella and to combat the phenomenon of Italian sounding. This is the first project in Italy carried out by a Consortium, which focuses on AI as an innovative tool for the protection of a Dop product.
The initiative was presented today in the Cavour Hall of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forestry.
The meeting with journalists was attended by Matteo Lorito, rector of the Federico II University of Naples and president of the Scientific Committee of the Consortium for the Protection of Mozzarella di Bufala Campana Dop; domenico raimondo, president of the Protection Consortium; Pier Maria Saccani, director of the Consortium; Angela Noble, head of the Consortium's Surveillance sector; George Ciardella, Cto Farzati Spa. Moderated Mauro Rosati, director of Origin Italia.
The project, conceived by the Consortium, was commissioned to the Farzati spa company, which developed an artificial intelligence system, a virtual “bodyguard” of the mozzarella di bufala campana Dop called Nina (named after one of the longest-running and most productive hoaxes in the history of the sector), capable of learning and recognizing the authenticity patterns of the wrappings.
"This innovation represents a qualitative leap in the surveillance activity on the mozzarella di bufala campana PDO and demonstrates that, if used well, the revolution of artificial intelligence can be of great help in the protection of Made in Italy.”, commented the director of the Consortium, Pier Maria Saccani and added: “The application of AI will make it possible for the Consortium to exponentially implement its market surveillance activity but also to provide a monitoring service for its members. Thus, for the first time, agrifood excellence joins forces with technological innovation, keeping up with the challenges of the global world.".
In 2023 alone, the Consortium carried out 5 checks, in addition to those of other designated bodies (Asl, Carabinieri, Icqrf) for a total of approximately 15 checks per year, making Bufala Dop one of the most protected products in Europe.
"The goal of our Consortium is to further enhance the transparency of the sector, focusing on digital innovation. This project adds to the total traceability of the supply chain, which today, starting from a single Dop buffalo mozzarella, allows us to trace it back to the batch of milk with which it was produced. This additional step taken raises the efficiency standards of the supply chain and allows us to further differentiate the Dop buffalo mozzarella from other mozzarellas on the market.”, underlined the president domenico raimondo.
"There is a lot of scientific activity around buffalo milk and its nutraceutical characteristics and therefore the protection of quality takes on an even more important added value. Artificial intelligence can do a lot to combat fraud. It is not just a matter of protecting buffalo mozzarella from Campania, but our food culture", he has declared the rector Lorito, who also announced the next big event: “On September 24th and 25th Naples will host the first international congress on buffalo mozzarella, organized by the Consorzio di Tutela and Federico II, a further sign of the importance of this supply chain.".
HOW AI WORKS
The new system is based on a platform that uses Artificial Intelligence in a process of continuous improvement. The AI searches and verifies on the web, with “scraping” techniques, all the references it encounters on Mozzarella di Bufala Campana Dop, and analyses the presence of imitations, counterfeits, evocations and abuses based on learning rules. The system verifies the Dop mozzarella wrappers, learning to distinguish the authentic ones from any imitations, improving with experience and becoming increasingly precise in recognising fakes. Through this continuous learning model, the AI perfects its ability to identify the authenticity and conformity criteria of the wrappers, offering an additional level of protection.
"The project is a model of innovation in the dairy sector, because it manages to offer a concrete solution to guarantee the transparency and traceability of packaging and fight counterfeiting. Through the use of advanced technologies, this initiative not only protects one of the most representative products of Italian excellence, but also establishes new standards for the entire agri-food sector", has explained George Ciardella, Cto of Farzati.
