It’s no hoax: the future tastes of mozzarella

There are concepts we tend to keep at arm’s length. On the one hand, buffalo mozzarella, with its rich heritage of tradition, local areas and artisans. On the other, artificial intelligence, algorithms and robots. Bringing them together may seem like forcing the future into a context where it has no place. Yet the real hoax would be to believe that the future has nothing to do with mozzarella. From 28 to 30 October, the World Buffalo Congress will take place in Sorrento, returning to Italy after almost twenty years. It is organised by the University of Naples Federico II, the Consortium for the Protection of Mozzarella di Bufala Campana PDO and the Experimental Zooprophylactic Institute of Southern Italy. Among the key figures behind this initiative are also some friends of Il Foglio, with whom we have produced several articles in this issue of Il Foglio AI, attempting to tell a story that fascinates us: that of a sector which has made tradition its strong point and which today can make innovation its new frontier. This is not a festival disguised as a technology conference: it brings together researchers, farmers and businesses from over twenty countries, with 283 scientific papers. Italy is presenting 82 of them – more than India and Pakistan. The paradox is instructive: we have less than one per cent of the world’s buffalo, yet we are presenting more studies than anyone else at the congress. We do not win on quantity alone. We win – when we succeed – by combining knowledge, quality and enterprise. What will be discussed? Genomics, to study animal health and milk quality. Sensors capable of detecting stress and disease. Computer vision, milking robots and algorithms that transform data into better decisions. This doesn’t mean entrusting the mozzarella recipe to ChatGPT. It means helping a farmer spot a problem sooner, use fewer resources, reduce waste and improve animal welfare. Technology doesn’t erase a product’s identity: it protects it. Here lies an Italian misunderstanding. We are rightly keen to defend designations of origin, production regulations, the geographical origins of products and the knowledge passed down through generations. Sometimes, however, we confuse authenticity with a distrust of change. As if a more efficient machine were to make a cheese any less authentic. As if an algorithm that safeguards the health of a buffalo were to threaten the culture of a region. As if tradition were a relic behind glass, rather than a living heritage to be strengthened.

Mozzarella is not merely a gastronomic symbol. According to the Consortium, 36 per cent of PDO production in 2025 was exported; retail turnover stands at 850 million euros and the supply chain employs around 11,000 people. Behind a single white ball lie research, exports, employment, quality controls and reputation. According to the Smart AgriFood Observatory of the Politecnico di Milano and the University of Brescia, in 2025 the Italian Agriculture 4.0 market reached 2.5 billion euros, 9 per cent more than the previous year. AI remains relatively uncommon: it is used by 8 per cent of farmers and 18 per cent of food processing companies. The challenge is not to stem a revolution that is spiralling out of control, but to ensure that smaller businesses are not excluded from the benefits. A single sensor in a barn is not enough. Investment, expertise and measurable results are needed. But the right comparison is not between man and machine, between a water buffalo and an algorithm, or between the past and the future. Sorrento has a lesson to offer the whole of Italy. The future also depends on placing greater value on what we have been doing for centuries. Mozzarella will not be any better simply because someone calls it ‘smart’. It can become more competitive and sustainable if we put intelligence at its service. The real fallacy is to think that, in order to defend ‘Made in Italy’, we must ask the future to stay outside the door.