J&K FDA Bans Sale of 10 Ghee Batches

The J&K Food and Drug Administration has stopped the sale of 10 ghee batches following testing at designated state food laboratories. The reports found that the products did not meet compositional standards established under India’s Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.

Laboratory findings recorded irregularities in several measures used to assess ghee quality and purity. These included changed fatty-acid profiles, Reichert-Meissl values below the required standard and non-compliant Polenske values. The reports also identified failures involving moisture content and butyro-refractometer specifications.

After receiving the test results, food-safety enforcement officers carried out coordinated inspections across the supply chain. The operations covered retail shops, distributor warehouses and wholesale supply points where the affected batches could be held or offered for sale.

Officials seized stocks that did not comply with the prescribed requirements. Food business operators were instructed to remove the specified production batches from circulation and to carry out immediate recalls. The directions were issued in connection with preventing consumers from being misled by products that had failed the official tests.

Designated enforcement officers said formal legal action was being started against the manufacturers, distributors and marketing entities linked to the supply of the batches. The proceedings cover the parties responsible for producing, distributing or promoting the products identified in the enforcement action.

Food-safety rules provide for financial penalties and compounding orders in such cases. The regulatory framework also allows operational licences to be cancelled when violations are repeated. The authorities’ action followed the laboratory reports and the subsequent market seizures and recall instructions.