Should the microbiota of raw milk cheeses play a role in the definition of geographical indications and quality schemes within the European Union?

Raw milk PDO cheeses (not only Italian ones) are extremely variable, not only among producers but also, above all, throughout ripening. The paper has further flaws: assuming that the analysis of the metagenome of a product at the time of consumption can characterize the microbiota and its evolution during ripening is wrong (2) the resolution of metagenomic approaches is being greatly exaggerated: it is unclear how long and short reads were combined, and the information presented on Metagenome-Assembeld-Genome quality is limited and fails to comply with the minimum standards for accountability (3) use of parametric tests in key statistical comparisons for microbiome analysis, without correction for multiple comparisons, is, simply put, wrong (4) the authors overlook the importance of technological aspect of dairy production and their effect as drivers of microbial succession (5–13) the authors seem to ignore the foundation of the quality scheme in the EU. PDO is linked to the production area, raw materials, and technology: microorganisms and fermentation processes are not the only drivers of product quality and identity (7) We are all too aware of the difficulties of the peer review process but we cannot help being surprised that the reviewers did not notice the points we have raised. 1 Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore , Piacenza-Cremona , Italy 2 University Parma , Parma , Italy 3 CREA-Lodi , Lodi , Italy 4 Free University Bolzano , Bolzano , Italy 5 Alma Mater University Bologna , Bologna , Italy 6 University Basilicata , Potenza , Italy Teagasc Food Research Centre , Fermoy , Cork , Ireland