Mathura: Food safety officials in Uttar Pradesh’s Mathura conducted a massive raid and seized around 500 kg of adulterated and fake paneer made using chemicals and destroyed them on the spot. The operation conducted by the District Food Safety and Drug Administration (FSDA) unearthed a fake dairy racket and seized a huge quantity of dangerous chemicals and raw materials used for making paneer.
During the raid, officials seized processed soybean oil, Ira sodium hydrogen and a bleaching chemical called ‘Tinopol’ used for washing clothes.
2,000 litres of milk seized: 2,000 litres of suspected artificial milk worth around Rs 1.25 lakh have been seized and a total of 9 samples have been sent for laboratory testing.
What is ‘Analog Paneer’
A fake dairy product: Instead of real milk, a product made by mixing cheap vegetable oil, palm oil, soy protein and chemicals to make it look like real paneer is called ‘Analog Paneer’. Consumption of this type of artificial paneer poses a risk of stomach diseases, liver problems and in the long run, deadly diseases like cancer.
Banned in several states: Following the states of Maharashtra, Gujarat and Chhattisgarh, the Madhya Pradesh government has also recently completely banned the sale and consumption of analog paneer.
A large inter-state racket of supplying fake paneer, khoya and milk from Shamli and Baghpat in western Uttar Pradesh and Mewat in Haryana to hotels and markets in Delhi-NCR is active and the authorities have intensified the investigation.