The PDO may not work as expected in the face of rising popularity of a product. This could be the case for Parmigiano-Reggiano. A recent #notonmypasta campaign [1] outlined abuses on milk-producing cows (e.g. 0 pasture days) in the PDO region. Cheese produced by potentially sickly animals can't ever be considered the pinnacle of quality. The BBC article attributing nearly-magic properties to the cheese just makes things worse. The article almost reads as an advertorial/counter-campaign.

I'd personally go for a Parmesan knockoff from a farm certified for animal welfare, rather than the PDO with shadows over the quality of the milk used.

[1]: https://www.ciwf.org.uk/news/2017/11/the-cruel-truth-behind-...