Zomato bans analogue paneer dishes and urges dairy use

Zomato said the policy took effect immediately. Dishes that restaurant partners had declared to contain analogue dairy were removed from the food-delivery platform, while restaurants were asked to amend their menus where necessary.

Partners have been instructed to use natural dairy ingredients instead. Where an immediate change is not possible, Zomato said restaurants should remove the affected dishes. Businesses that continue to violate the policy may be delisted from the platform.

The company also asked restaurants to examine supplier labels and ingredient information. That review is intended to verify the materials used in preparation and ensure that dishes displayed on Zomato correspond to how they are described.

Aditya Mangla, Zomato’s chief executive, said the measure was linked to the company’s stated aim of providing “better food for more people”. He said it also concerned customer health and clear standards for food listed and served by restaurant partners.

Analogue dairy products are non-dairy substitutes in which some or all milk components are replaced with non-milk ingredients. Analogue paneer may contain vegetable oils, starches, plant proteins, emulsifiers and other additives in place of milk fat.

The products have faced increased regulatory scrutiny in India. In April, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India said such products could be sold if labelled accurately, but that calling a cheese analogue “paneer”, or listing food made from it as paneer, breached the Food Safety and Standards Act of 2006.

Maharashtra later announced a one-year prohibition on the manufacture and sale of artificial or analogue paneer, citing public-health concerns. The state said inspections conducted from April 2025 to March 2026 examined 308 samples, of which 109, or 35.4%, failed to meet prescribed standards. Authorities classified 79 as sub-standard and 30 as unsafe.