Hyderabad: The Telangana government has imposed a one-year ban on the manufacturing and sale of analogue paneer with immediate effect due to public health concerns.
Analogue paneer refers to non-dairy, artificial paneer. It is a product prepared like paneer by completely or partially replacing milk fat or milk solids with vegetable oil, vegetable fat or other non-dairy ingredients and is considered analogue or non-dairy paneer. This kind of product shall not be labelled, marketed, sold or represented to consumers as ‘paneer’.
The Telangana Commissioner of Food Safety issued the order under Section 30(2)(a) of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006. The prohibition came into effect on Thursday, September 10, and will remain in force for one year. The order has been notified in the Official Gazette as Gazette Notification number 807, issued on September 10.
According to the order, the ban applies to non-dairy and artificial or analogue paneer being manufactured, stored, distributed or sold as ‘paneer’ or otherwise.
The Telangana government has also banned the transportation of such products, effectively covering the supply chain from manufacture to sale.
The Commissioner of Food Safety issued the ban by exercising powers under the Food Safety and Standards Act, stating that the measure was being taken “in the interest of public health”.
TG SAFE has said that the notification be disseminated through print and electronic media to inform the public about the ban.
