Karnataka bans non-dairy paneer for a year, cites public health concerns
In a notification, Karnataka's Food Safety and Drug Administration said it was prohibiting the manufacturing, processing, packing, storage, distribution, transportation, wholesale and retail sale, display for sale and supply of non-dairy or analogue paneer being sold under the name 'paneer' till August 17 next year.
The Karnataka government has imposed a one-year blanket ban on non-dairy or analogue alternatives that are marketed as "paneer." The ban, which will be effective across the state, is aimed at protecting public health and ensuring only standardised milk-based paneer is sold in the market, the state's Food Safety and Drug Administration said on Saturday.
In a notification, the department said it was prohibiting the manufacturing, processing, packing, storage, distribution, transportation, wholesale and retail sale, display for sale and supply of non-dairy or analogue paneer being sold under the name "paneer" for a period of one year, until August 17 next year.
The order was issued under Sections 30(2)(a), 18 and 29 of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006. As per relevant sections of the Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Regulations, 2011, paneer is a standardised food product prepared from milk.
Milk fat is a key constituent of paneer, and its replacement with, or use of, vegetable fat or other non-dairy ingredients in place of milk components is not permitted in its preparation.
"Karnataka has tested several paneer samples and it is found that there is no adulteration," the department stated. However, despite finding no cases of adulteration of paneer with vegetable oil, vegetable fat or other dairy ingredients, the prohibition has been imposed in the interest of public health, it added.
A product resembling paneer is considered non-dairy or analogue paneer when milk fats or milk solids are wholly or partially replaced with vegetable oil, vegetable fat or other non-dairy ingredients in its preparation, according to officials.
"This prohibition applies only to dairy analogue products for which specific quality standards have not been prescribed or standardized by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). The order shall not apply to standardized food products such as Frozen Dessert, Processed Cheese and Mixed Fat Spread, which are already covered under separate prescribed standards," the Food Safety and Drug Administration noted.
With the prohibition, Karnataka has joined a growing list of states that have imposed bans on analogue or non-dairy paneer over the past month, including Maharashtra, Himachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Gujarat.