The Himachal Pradesh government has banned the production, storage, supply and sale of non-dairy “analogue paneer” when it is sold as genuine dairy paneer anywhere in the state.
The order was issued by Food Safety Commissioner Ashish Singhmar under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006. It has taken effect immediately and will remain in force for one year.
The decision follows market inspections and laboratory tests by the state Food Safety Department. The checks reportedly found cases of adulteration, misleading labelling and violations of food safety and product traceability rules.
Officials found that some suppliers were using vegetable oils and other non-dairy fats instead of milk fat in paneer-like products but selling them as paneer. In some cases, the products were supplied without proper labels, bills or records showing their source.
Under the new order, food business operators cannot make, transport, store or sell products containing non-milk fats under the name “paneer”.
The ban also covers restaurants, hotels, cloud kitchens, hostels, dhabas and catering services. They cannot use synthetic or analogue paneer in dishes described as paneer on their menus. If a non-dairy alternative is used, customers must be clearly informed.
Food businesses must also maintain proper purchase bills, batch details and product labels as required under the Food Safety and Standards regulations. This will help authorities trace the source of the products.
Food Safety Officers can inspect premises, collect samples and take action against products that violate the rules. This may include seizure, recall or destruction of such products.
Those found violating food safety laws could face legal action for selling substandard, misbranded or unsafe food products.
The government clarified that non-dairy products that meet the required standards are not banned. However, they must be properly labelled and cannot be sold or presented to consumers as genuine dairy paneer.
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