It's hard cheese for Parmesan producers targeted by Mafia

Criminal gangs in Italy have found a lucrative new way of earning money - hijacking lorries containing wheels of Parmesan cheese.

Police say there have been a spate of cheese raids. Gangs lie in wait at service stations on the Milan-Bologna motorway to ambush drivers when they stop for coffee. In one instance, a driver was threatened by four armed men, tied up and gagged, and his van carrying 300 wheels of cheese was driven away. The wheels were taken to an industrial estate, cut up and then sold in stores.

According to Giorgio Ciroldi of Ferrarini in Reggio Emilia, one of the biggest producers of the sharp and granular cheese, the stolen Parmesan usually ends up in the south of Italy, on sale in corner shops where no questions are asked about its provenance.

To counter the thefts, producers and the Italian farmers' union, Coldiretti, are experimenting with microchips hidden in the crusts of the cheese, which means they are more easily identifiable. Markings burnt on to the crust can also help police track the stolen cheese.

The average Italian family is said to eat half a kilo of Parmesan a week, mostly by sprinkling it on pasta. A recent survey by Coldiretti also found that Parmesan is the most shoplifted item in Italy, accounting for 10 per cent of goods stolen from shops.