Milky Mist Denies FSSAI Inquiry Into Paneer Products

Milky Mist, a dairy-products company based in Tamil Nadu, said it had received no communication from the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) or the Tamil Nadu Food Safety Department requiring an investigation into its paneer products. The clarification was issued in a filing to the stock exchanges, according to a report by The Hindu Businessline.

The company said it would respond to any communication from the relevant authorities and take any required measures in accordance with the law. Its statement came after reports the previous week said that the Central Food Safety Department had instructed Tamil Nadu officials to collect Milky Mist paneer samples for laboratory analysis.

Those reports also stated that the action followed testing that had indicated poor quality in Milky Mist Paneer. The company’s clarification did not confirm that an inquiry had been ordered or that it had received a notice from either food-safety authority.

Separately, the Press Trust of India reported on September 23 that FSSAI had taken action involving dairy products sold through Swiggy Instamart and BigBasket. The report linked the action to allegedly misleading claims and product information that did not comply with requirements.

The products identified in that report were Milky Mist Fresh Low Fat Cream, Milky Mist Farm Fresh Curd and Milky Mist Greek Yoghurt. The report did not identify those products as paneer.

The New Indian Express reported on Saturday that officials at MN Enterprises in Bilekahalli, on Bannerghatta Road in Karnataka, seized expired plain caramel, Nestlé Milkmaid and Milky Mist khoa. The report also said that the unit had deficiencies involving labelling requirements.

Milky Mist describes itself as India’s fastest-growing packaged-food company and says it offers more than 400 products. The business began as a milk-trading company in 1985 and started producing paneer in 1994. Its product range now includes cheese, paneer, butter, curd, ghee, yoghurt, ice cream, ultra-high-temperature products, frozen food, ready-to-eat and ready-to-cook products, and chocolates. The company sells products under the Milky Mist, SmartChef, Capella and Misty Lite brands and has acquired Briyas and Asal.