VIJAYAWADA: In a decisive move to safeguard public health, prevent consumer deception, and curb unfair trade practices, the Andhra Pradesh government has enforced a comprehensive one-year statewide prohibition on the manufacture, processing, packing, storage, transportation, distribution, sale, and commercial food-service use of non-standardised dairy analogues.
Formally issued via an extraordinary gazette notification by Food Safety Commissioner G Veerapandian under Section 30(2)(a) of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, the strict regulatory order takes effect across the entire State.
The administrative crackdown directly targets synthetic substitutes—commonly known as artificial or analogue paneer—wherein genuine milk, milk fat, and milk solids are wholly or partially replaced by vegetable fats, palm oil, and other non-dairy ingredients.
Elaborating on the legal and regulatory framework, food safety authorities emphasised that under Regulation 2.1.16 of the Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Regulations, 2011, genuine paneer possesses a strictly defined identity derived exclusively from milk and milk solids using permitted acidulants.
Products manufactured using cheaper vegetable oils and non-dairy powders cannot be treated, sold, or represented as authentic paneer merely because they share a similar visual texture, colour, or culinary application.
The State government noted that because these non-standardised analogues are inexpensive to produce, possess an extended shelf life, and closely mimic genuine dairy, they have been rampantly substituted across hotels, restaurants, cloud kitchens, catering units, and various public eateries, thereby misleading unsuspecting consumers.
The expansive statutory prohibition covers three core operational tiers. First, it outlaws the manufacture, processing, packing, storage, transportation, distribution, and sale of non-standardised “Analogue Paneer” and artificial paneer in any form that imitates genuine dairy.
Second, it bans any other non-standardised dairy analogue—excluding officially standardised products such as frozen desserts, processed cheese, and mixed fat spreads—that creates a false impression of being a genuine dairy product through misleading packaging, labelling, advertising, or presentation.
Third, it strictly prohibits food service establishments, hotels, and institutions from supplying, serving, or utilising such imitation analogues in a manner that misleads patrons into believing they are consuming authentic dairy.
Weighing in on the enforcement measures, Food Safety Director Arun Babu urged consumers to remain highly vigilant, advising the public to carefully examine paneer items for suspicious variations in texture, colour, aroma, and melting or heating behaviour, particularly when offered at unusually discounted market rates.
All Food Business Operators (FBOs) across Andhra Pradesh have been legally mandated to ensure that every product sold or served as paneer strictly conforms to applicable FSSAI standards without misrepresentation. The rigorous statewide restriction will remain in force for a full one-year duration unless modified or superseded earlier by competent statutory authorities, reinforcing the government’s commitment to absolute food safety.
