Mumbai: FDA Seizes 189 Kg Paneer In Citywide Raids For Adulteration; Testing Underway

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), on November 23 confiscated samples of 189 kilograms of paneer from the city and the samples were sent for further testing. Officials confirmed that the teams from the FDA are conducting raids at various places across the city to check for adulterated food and sweet items.

Details of the raid

The raid, which was conducted on a tip-off, included checking the premises of a Punjab Paneer shop in Chembur Colony, where paneer was being produced and stored in unhygienic conditions.

“We have confiscated the paneer worth Rs1,06,972 and samples are sent to a laboratory for further testing and reports will be available soon. The action was taken following a tip-off received by the officials,” said Shailesh Adhao, Joint Commissioner, FDA.

Action will be taken based on analysis report

The FDA teams are conducting raids at various places across the city to check for adulterated food and sweet items. Adhao further said that the action against the shop will be taken based on the analysis report.

A senior official said that during the course of the investigation, it was learnt that the accused used unsweetened milk powder, light palm oil and chemicals to process and produce harmful and low-quality paneer, disguised as ‘malai paneer’, to be consumed in restaurants, hotels, as well as for dairy traders and catering professionals.

Law regarding registration and license

According to the Food Safety and Standards Act of 2006, eateries or vendors with an annual turnover of less than Rs12 lakh can seek registration, while those with a bigger turnover require a licence. There are nearly 1.3 lakh active licence holders and 2.4 lakh registered entities in Mumbai.

There are only 13 food safety officers in the city and thus checks for hygiene or collection of samples are infrequent.

However, the FDA has in three months issued shut business notices to 20 restaurants and has also given improvement notices to 137 of the 155 restaurants, while collecting a fine of Rs1.70 lakh.