Quality parameter assessment of grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese by waveguide spectroscopy

► Rind percentage, ripening and moisture content of the Parmigiano Reggiano cheese were evaluated by waveguide spectroscopy. ► The 2-20 GHz frequency range was explored. ► The assessment of rind percentage, ripening and moisture content were conducted with PLS and SIMCA analysis. ► Rind percentage and months of ripening were predicted with R2 values up to 0.944 and 0.966, respectively. ► All samples belonging to the classes characterized by 12% and 50% of rind were correctly classified.