9 ms·

I found technical details about the device: https://www.isenet.it/product/pharmaseq-products/ https://www.isenet.it/product/pharmaseq-products/ It's tiny (500

• ge96 4y ago
  Interesting that it is injected (how deep) yet can still be powered by a laser.
  • ravel-bar-foo 4y ago
    SiO2 is glass. So it's a micron-sized silicon chip inside a glass capsule.
    • soco 4y ago
      ...under x mm of cheese.
• yread 4y ago
  I know the company - it's a family business, focused on making great tools for scientists
• gregsadetsky 4y ago
  Fascinating -- https://p-chip.com/solutions/ https://p-chip.com/solutions/ And the patent -- https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/bf/71/15/70b430386a60be/US7098394.pdf https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/bf/71/15/70b4303...
  • ravel-bar-foo 4y ago
    It looks like the patent covers an integrated on-chip solar cell. I wonder if the output is by on-chip LED or radio, and if they keep that a trade secret or if it is covered by patent also.
    • gregsadetsky 4y ago
      Yeah I had the same question. I didn’t see any mentions of radio in the patent, but the product description document [0] does say: —— Is the radio frequency signal from the p-Chip harmful? A. No. The radio signal transmitted by p-Chips is so faint that approval from the US Federal Communications Commission or similar agencies is not required. Emissions fall well below FCC radiated emission limits defined in CFR 47, 15.209. —— The illuminating laser wand does have a radio receiver. More info in this related patent [1], especially at page 21. [0] https://www.isenet.it/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/PharmaSeq_White_Paper_Small_Animal_Tagging.pdf https://www.isenet.it/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/PharmaSeq_W... [1] https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/43/da/03/c64838717b8a0b/US20140106470A1.pdf https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/43/da/03/c648387...
  • perihelions 4y ago
    Looks like it's the same company (if anyone else was confused like me): - "...p-Chip acquired PharmaSeq in the fall of 2021" https://p-chip.com/meet-massimo-baio-long-time-team-member-and-new-director-of-emea-business-development/ https://p-chip.com/meet-massimo-baio-long-time-team-member-a...
• kens 4y ago
  I don't suppose anyone has one of these chips? I'd be interested in taking die photos.
• notatoad 4y ago
  So if I'm the sort of person who eats my cheese rinds, I don't really have anything to worry about here.
• jquery 4y ago
  Doesn’t look edible to me.
  • pmontra 4y ago
    It is not but it's half a millimeter and inert. I guess that all of us had sand in our mouths and occasionally ingested part of it. Furthermore we shouldn't have that part of the cheese.
    • beeforpork 4y ago
      The rind is very good for cooking sauces. You pull it out afterwards, but the chip could, of course, fall out into the sauce during cooking. So if they put electronic sh*t into my food, I do not want to buy that anymore. Probably it does not need to be declared, so I don't even know I am eating electronics.
• hedora 4y ago
  So, what percentage of these crack open during processing, and how poisonous are they without the sio2 casing? What about when they hit the sewer processing plant, and are eventually dumped. Also, what sort of environmental impact does producing them have? Hopefully they'll be forced to label products that have these things in them. Otherwise, I'll be switching to fake Parmesan.
  • axg11 4y ago
    What makes you think any chip would be harmful to ingest? You could happily eat most chips, if they were small enough, without any negative effects.
    • perihelions 4y ago
      There's some hideously toxic metals in certain semiconductors, e.g. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gallium_arsenide https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gallium_arsenide https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cadmium_telluride https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cadmium_telluride
      • yreg 4y ago
        I'd expect the mass of these metals that can be used in a 0.5mm chip to be negligible. Still, I don't like the idea of a future where these chips are used in many food items.
  • gorgoiler 4y ago
    If you’re eating the rind you probably already have some more basic health issues — those of a mechanical rather than chemical nature.
    • duckmysick 4y ago
      I've seen a few recipes where you steep the rinds in a liquid or a sauce to get more flavor.
    • scheme271 4y ago
• henearkr 4y ago
  That confirms something I suspected: blockchain adds nothing to this solution, and is present only because of the fad.
  • 8n4vidtmkvmk 4y ago
    I still don't get what it adds over a unique QR code.
    • sandos 4y ago
      A QR code is easy to copy? Im guessing this isn't.
      • henearkr 4y ago
        Lol why would it be more difficult with blockchain? If it is a chip, then maybe. Even more if the chip was like a yubikey with challenge-response (but it isn't).
      • 8n4vidtmkvmk 4y ago
        You can copy it, but there ought to be some record of where the cheese is supposed to be. If it was sold to California but found in New York, something fishy going on. But ya, I guess just making it uncopyable would be simpler I suppose.
  • dsco 4y ago
    Where does it say anything about blockchains in the article and how often do you think about how much you hate them?
    • bleuarff 4y ago
      From TFA: "The innovation combines food-safe Casein labels with the p-Chip micro transponder — a blockchain crypto-anchor that creates a digital 'twin' for physical items. This scannable new food tag is smaller than a grain of salt and highly durable, delivering next-generation visibility and traceability." I, for one, had never heard the term "blockchain crypto-anchor" before.
• iostream24 4y ago
  Is it digestible, or rather passable in stools with no harm entailed? My favorite part of Parmesan is the rind
  • camillomiller 4y ago
    You, sir, are a monster. Best Regards, Italy
    • deleted 4y ago
      [deleted]
  • jquery 4y ago
    Your standards for food should probably be higher than “passable in stools”. Not judging but that seems like a low bar no?