MUMBAI: The Maharashtra government has banned the manufacture and sale of analogue paneer in the state for one year following complaints about its alleged adverse health effects, Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) Commissioner Tukaram Munde said.
He said Maharashtra would be the first state to impose such a ban.
Munde said that, as the FDA and Food Safety Commissioner, he has the power to ban analogue paneer for a specified period.
“The analogue paneer is non-dairy paneer that has been sold on a large scale, and it has adverse health effects as well. We issued the notification on July 30 for banning the analogue paneer. The ban is imposed on the analogue paneer production process, storage, transportation, sale and distribution. This ban on analogue paneer in Maharashtra is for one year, and if required, this ban will be extended,” Munde said, adding that the department had received several complaints against analogue paneer.
He said the FDA had collected 308 paneer samples from the market. Of these, 89 were found to be substandard, 38 were found to be unsafe, and 32 per cent of the samples were found to be unsafe.
“Paneer is a milk product, but analogue paneer is a non-dairy product, but that is sold as paneer without any warning or advisory. So, it is quite misleading to people; therefore, we have given an order to ban the analogue paneer. This decision has been taken to prevent secret sale. The orders in this regard are binding on manufacturers, processors, distributors, and sellers. Therefore, hotels cannot use analogues either,” Munde said.
He added that analogue paneer was found to contain vegetable fat in large quantities instead of protein, and that the fat content was harmful to health, prompting the decision to ban it.
“People who eat paneer should get an original milk product -- paneer, not the fake one. Besides, all the norms on packing should be followed. If people have any doubts, they should complain on the toll-free number. The health of the citizens will not be compromised at any cost,” Munde said.
He said the department had so far inspected 3,137 establishments, asked 764 establishments to carry out rectifications and comply with queries, and suspended the licences of 165 establishments. “In our action, 28,66,096 kg of adulterated goods worth Rs 55.72 crore have been destroyed so far. Besides, we inspected 890 hotels and rectification notices have been issued to 329 hotels, while the licenses of 116 hotels have been suspended,” the FDA Commissioner added.
