Key Highlights:
- FSSAI has proposed a nationwide ban on manufacturing and sale of analogue paneer, notifying draft amendments for public consultation.
- Products already licensed under the "Analogue in Dairy Context" category must discontinue using the term "Paneer" in labelling and marketing.
- The draft regulations will be considered 60 days after publication in the Official Gazette.
- Maharashtra recently banned analogue paneer for one year after over 35% of tested samples failed quality tests due to vegetable-fat adulteration.
- Gujarat also announced a statewide ban on non-standard analogue paneer, cheese and butter, citing consumer deception and food safety concerns.
A Nationwide Proposal to Curb Misleading Labelling
India's food regulator has proposed to prohibit manufacturing and sale of analogue paneer across the country, notifying draft amendments for consultations.
The Rationale Behind the Proposal
According to the FSSAI draft, "the amendment is proposed in the following regulation to restrict manufacturing and sale of analogue product as paneer so as to prevent misleading consumers regarding the nature and composition of the product," directly addressing concerns over consumers unknowingly purchasing a non-dairy substitute under the paneer label.
Requirements for Existing Licensed Products
Products already licensed or registered under the 'Analogue in Dairy Context' category shall discontinue the use of the term "Paneer" in their nomenclature, labelling or marketing, it added, meaning that manufacturers currently operating within this category will need to rebrand their products to avoid the misleading association with genuine dairy paneer.
State-Level Bans Already in Place
Several state governments have banned the sale and manufacturing of analogue paneer, indicating that this proposed national regulation follows on from action already taken independently at the state level.
The Regulatory Process Ahead
FSSAI has decided to introduce draft amendments in the Food Safety and Standards (Prohibition and Restrictions on Sales) regulations. The draft regulations "shall be taken into consideration after the expiry of a period of sixty days from the date on which copies of the Official Gazette in which this notification is published are made available to the public," giving stakeholders a defined window for feedback before the regulation could be finalised.
A Broader Pattern of Regulatory Enforcement
The food regulator has taken regulatory action against several food businesses after inspections found food safety violations and non-compliance. The regulator suspended licences and issued prohibition orders relating to non-compliant ghee products and adulteration concerns, indicating that this proposed paneer ban forms part of a wider, ongoing regulatory push against adulterated dairy and dairy-adjacent products.
Maharashtra's Earlier Ban
The Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration recently banned the production, distribution and sale of artificial 'analogue' paneer for one year, citing public health concerns. The action followed laboratory findings in which more than 35 per cent of recent paneer samples tested in the state failed quality tests due to vegetable-fat adulteration, a figure that highlights just how widespread the adulteration issue had become within the state's paneer supply chain.
Gujarat's Statewide Ban
The Gujarat government also announced a statewide ban on the manufacture, storage, transportation, distribution, and sale of non-standard analogue paneer, cheese, and butter, citing concerns over consumer deception, food safety, and the protection of the state's dairy sector, reflecting a similarly comprehensive approach to addressing the issue across multiple dairy product categories rather than paneer alone.
The Core Problem Being Addressed
Products made from vegetable oil and other non-dairy ingredients were being presented as paneer, misleading consumers, harming genuine dairy producers and raising serious food safety concerns, a summary that captures the multiple dimensions of harm this proposed national ban is intended to address: protecting consumers from deception, safeguarding the livelihoods of legitimate dairy producers, and ensuring overall food safety standards are maintained across the country's paneer supply.