Paneer crackdown: Himachal bans ‘fake paneer’ being sold as the real thing
State Government orders immediate action against analogue/non-dairy paneer; hotels, restaurants, dhabas and caterers also covered
Shimla, August 25:
In a move that could have far-reaching implications for the dairy and food business, Himachal Pradesh has virtually drawn a line between real paneer and products merely made to look like paneer.
The state government has issued a fresh order prohibiting the manufacture, storage, transportation, supply and sale of analogue or non-dairy paneer as genuine paneer anywhere in Himachal Pradesh. The order also brings hotels, restaurants, dhabas, caterers, canteens, hostels and other food establishments directly under the regulatory scanner.
The notification, issued by the Directorate of Health Safety and Regulations under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, comes against the backdrop of the growing presence of paneer-like products in the food market and concerns that consumers may be buying a product believing it to be genuine dairy paneer.
The issue is significant because the product may look, taste and behave like paneer while containing vegetable fat, vegetable oil or other non-milk ingredients in place of milk constituents. The government has now made it clear that such a product cannot simply be passed off to a consumer as “paneer”.
The notification records that surveillance, inspections and sampling undertaken by the Food Safety Department in different parts of the state had detected a significant number of non-conforming samples, including cases involving sub-standard, unsafe and misbranded products. Authorities also found instances where paneer and paneer-like products were being sold without adequate labels, bills, invoices and records that could establish their source and composition.
Not a ban on every paneer substitute
The government order is important for another reason. It does not prohibit every product that is manufactured as a legally recognised substitute for paneer. What it prohibits is the deception—a non-dairy or analogue product cannot be represented, advertised, displayed or sold as genuine paneer.
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Under the order, a food business operator cannot manufacture, process, pack, store, transport, distribute, supply or sell analogue/non-dairy paneer as paneer. If a separately standardised food product is being used as a substitute, its actual identity and composition will have to be disclosed in accordance with food safety and labelling requirements.
Restaurants and hotels now squarely in the frame
The crackdown does not stop at manufacturers and retailers.
Hotels, restaurants, dhabas, caterers, banquet establishments, messes, canteens, hostels, institutions and cloud kitchens have been told that when their menu, bill, display or advertisement says “paneer”, the product served must conform to the prescribed standards.
In other words, a customer ordering a paneer dish cannot be served an analogue product while being led to believe that it contains genuine dairy paneer.
The government has also made traceability a key requirement. Food operators dealing in packaged paneer will have to ensure that the product carries appropriate declarations and that its name and description reflect its actual nature and composition. They will also have to maintain purchase bills, invoices, batch details and source records so that officials can trace where the product came from during an inspection or investigation.
Raids, sampling and seizure possible
The order gives Food Safety Officers and other authorised officials the power to collect samples and take action against products found violating the provisions. Depending upon the case, authorities can resort to seizure, detention, recall, disposal or destruction of non-compliant food products.
Violators can face penal action under the Food Safety and Standards Act and the regulations framed under it, including provisions dealing with sub-standard, misbranded and unsafe food.
The government has justified the intervention primarily on consumer protection and public health grounds. Paneer is widely consumed across the state and is an important source of protein, particularly for vegetarian consumers. The notification says that misleading consumers about the identity and composition of a paneer product can deprive them of an informed choice.
One-year order with statewide impact
The order, issued by Ashish Singhal, IAS, Commissioner (Food Safety)-cum-Secretary (Health), will take effect from its publication in the Official Gazette and remain operative for one year unless withdrawn, modified or replaced.
Its significance lies not merely in another round of food inspections. For the first time through this specific state order, the government has put the entire chain—from manufacturing and transport to restaurants and the plate served to the consumer—under a clearly defined framework for dealing with analogue paneer.
For consumers, the message is simple: if it is not genuine paneer, it could not be sold as paneer.
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