Gandhinagar, Aug 5 (IANS) The Gujarat government on Wednesday 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.

State Health Minister Praful Pansheriya said the decision had been taken under the powers available to the government under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, after statewide sampling and laboratory testing by the state's Food and Drug Regulatory Authority detected instances of non-standard products resembling paneer but made from vegetable oil and other non-dairy ingredients.

"Gujarat is the country's leading dairy state. Through the hard work of our millions of milk-producing farmers, quality milk and milk products reach consumers. When a consumer purchases paneer or other dairy products, they trust that they are buying genuine paneer made from pure milk," Pansheriya said.

He said 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.

"Taking this situation seriously, in the interest of public health and by exercising the powers conferred under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, the state government is imposing a ban across the state on the manufacture, storage, transportation, distribution and sale of non-standard analogue paneer, cheese and butter," the minister said.

Pansheriya said the government had acted to prevent practices that mislead consumers and warned that any individual or food business operator violating the ban would face strict legal action under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.

He appealed to manufacturers, traders, hotels, restaurants, caterers and other food business operators to sell and use only standard-compliant, genuine paneer and comply fully with the law.

"The state government's commitment is clear: to ensure that every citizen has access to safe, quality and genuine food, to maintain consumer confidence, to protect our dairy industry and to safeguard public health," he said.

The latest decision follows Gujarat's earlier crackdown on analogue dairy products.

The state government had directed food service establishments to clearly disclose the use of cheese analogues on menus or display boards and prohibited manufacturers from supplying cheese analogues as "paneer".

The move required restaurants and other food businesses using cheese analogues to inform customers through menus or display boards to prevent misleading claims.

Gujarat subsequently intensified enforcement against products falsely sold as paneer. State authorities destroyed more than 1,000 kg of suspected analogue paneer during inspections and warned that businesses misrepresenting such products would face action.

The Gujarat announcement also comes after Maharashtra imposed a one-year statewide ban on the manufacture, storage, transport, distribution and sale of unstandardised analogue and non-dairy paneer, citing public health concerns and consumer deception.

--IANS

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