The Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has prohibited manufacture, processing, preparation, packing, storage, distribution, transport and sale of analogue or non-dairy paneer across the State for one year, citing persistent adulteration, consumer deception and public health concerns. The order, issued by Tukaram Mundhe, Food Safety Commissioner, Maharashtra, under Section 30(2)(a) of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, took immediate effect upon its publication in the Official Gazette on July 30. It also bars wholesale and retail sale, as well as offering or exposing analogue paneer for sale anywhere in the State. Analogue or non-dairy paneer refers to products resembling paneer in which milk fat or milk solids are wholly or partly replaced with vegetable oil, vegetable fat or other non-milk constituents. Such products cannot be marketed, sold or served as paneer under the Food Safety and Standards Regulations.

 

The action follows a State-wide surveillance drive conducted between April 1, 2025 and March 31, 2026. Of the 308 paneer and dairy analogue samples analysed, 109 (35.4 per cent) were found non-conforming, including 79 sub-standard and 30 unsafe samples. Laboratory analysis indicated addition or substitution of vegetable or other non-milk fat in a significant number of samples. The order notes that despite sustained enforcement, surveillance and awareness measures over the past year, the proportion of non-conforming samples remained persistently high, making stronger regulatory intervention necessary.

 

The decision also draws upon recommendations of the Central Advisory Committee under the Food Safety and Standards Act, which observed that analogue paneer lacks prescribed quality standards, making field-level enforcement difficult and encouraging deliberate adulteration. It further observed that such products do not provide the nutritional benefits of genuine paneer, particularly for vegetarians relying on paneer as a protein source. Hotels, restaurants, caterers, eateries and cloud kitchens have also been prohibited from using or serving analogue paneer.

 

The order states that such products were often passed off as genuine paneer without disclosure, misleading consumers and denying them an informed choice. It also notes that loose analogue paneer was frequently transported, stored and sold without original packaging, mandatory label declarations, invoices or adequate traceability documents, hampering effective enforcement. The prohibition does not apply to standardised products such as frozen desserts, processed cheese and mixed fat spreads. Violations will invite penalties under the Food Safety and Standards Act, including seizure and destruction of the offending products. The prohibition will remain in force for one year unless rescinded, modified or extended in accordance with law.