Well, I'm not going to not daydream that maybe my little piece of parmesean came from one of those wheels. That's a lot of cheese - it's not like they're going to just throw that out.
I’ve read that in Parma the cheese is so valuable they essentially have banks that hold the cheese for people. I’m almost wondering if this cheese was her payment for the marketing gig.
There seems to be a strategically placed hand blocking a parmesan grinder, probably for the best. But seriously, the other photo of her smiling and hugging the cheese like a giant stuffed animal is somehow heartwarming. It's cheese, brain. Thousands of dollars of fancy cheese.
I really doubt that... Why would they go through the cost of producing a plastic version of their product when they could simply use the actual article? I worked in a cheese shop for years, these particular wheels are VERY durable - I legitimately can't think of any benefit in using a fake cheese wheel, aside from TheTetrapod's correct comment about these wheels sweating oil (which makes most people's skin breakout into acne) which can be easily and immediately solved by using a rag.
edit: and again, having worked closely with this exact cheese many many many times, that is exactly what they look like as whole wheels. I have zero reason to believe this is plastic.
Parmigiano Reggiano is a protected name like champagne is. To have the name it has to be produced with traditional methods and sourced from the traditional region, all of which is legally defined. They charge a premium for this, and some of it becomes quite expensive.
Tetracycline, sold under various brand names, is an oral antibiotic in the tetracyclines family of medications, used to treat a number of infections, including acne, cholera, brucellosis, plague, malaria, and syphilis.
What does this have to do with gymnasts sponsored by cheese?