Mathura authorities destroy 500 kg paneer as dairy racket is probed

The Food Safety and Drug Administration conducted the raid as part of a district-wide food-safety campaign. The paneer was destroyed at the premises after officials identified it as contaminated, and materials allegedly used in its manufacture were taken into custody.

Among the seized substances were refined soybean oil, Tinopol chemical and Ira Sodium Hydrogen. Authorities also removed other raw materials from the unit. The milk recovered during the operation was estimated to be worth about Rs 1.25 lakh.

Nine samples were collected from the site for laboratory examination. The authorities’ action followed scrutiny of products sold as paneer but made partly or wholly with ingredients other than milk. The Mathura operation formed part of broader enforcement activity involving adulterated dairy products in India.

Analogue dairy products are made to resemble conventional dairy foods while replacing some or all milk components with non-dairy ingredients. In analogue paneer, vegetable fats, proteins and other substances may be used to reproduce the product’s texture and appearance.

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India recognises dairy analogues as a product category. Its definition of traditional paneer refers to a food obtained from milk, with or without added milk solids, through precipitation with a permitted acidulant followed by heating.

The raid took place amid restrictions on analogue paneer in several states. Madhya Pradesh had most recently banned the product, following similar measures in Maharashtra, Gujarat and Chhattisgarh. It also came against reports of an illegal dairy network in northern India. An India Today investigation published earlier in August reported an alleged supply chain running from production units in Mewat, Haryana, and western Uttar Pradesh to markets in Delhi-NCR, with connections to milk and khoya operators in Shamli and Baghpat.