Ahmedabad: Paneer, a staple in many of our households, is at the centre of an alarming food safety crisis. Latest inspections by Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) found several city eateries selling unsafe paneer, while Gujarat’s FDCA exposed factories using industrial chemicals and fat substitutes to mass-producse low-quality dairy. In Ahmedabad alone, 1,500 kg of adulterated paneer was seized in six months.
During inspections across Ahmedabad, AMC’s health department tested seven food samples, finding paneer adulteration at Shreeji Bhajipav and Pulav Restaurant in Jodhpur and Mahalaxmi Dairy in Sabarmati. Other substandard products included fryums from Shree Ambeshwar Provision Stores in Vejalpur and mawa barfi from Shri Shivshakti Chavana and Sweet Mart in Viratnagar. Authorities have confirmed that police complaints will be filed against four establishments for selling unsafe food.
Additionally, substandard paneer was discovered at Shreeji Dairy in Asarwa and Gatod Parotha House in Jodhpur, while garlic snacks from Ambeshwar Chavana and Sweet Mart in Vejalpur were also deemed below acceptable quality standards.
Meanwhile, Gujarat’s Food and Drugs Control Authority (FDCA) has been conducting a broader crackdown on paneer adulteration across the state. Investigations intensified after the agency collected over 300 samples from highway hotels during Diwali, with a staggering 30-35% failing quality tests. “Our inquiry traced the adulterated paneer back to factories where milk fat was being replaced with cheaper vegetable oils,” said FDCA Commissioner HG Koshia.
The FDCA investigation uncovered racket where producers replaced milk fat with vegetable fat and used industrial-grade chemicals like acetic acid for solidification. “The factories were extracting milk fat and adding cheaper soybean oil. The adulterated paneer, which should have had a minimum of 50% milk fat, was primarily supplied to highway hotels,” Koshia explained.
Several factories were sealed for operating without proper licences and for adulterating paneer. A particularly egregious case was discovered in Kanodar, North Gujarat, where a factory was operating without a food safety licence while systematically replacing milk fat with soybean oil in their products.
In Ahmedabad alone, authorities seized 1,500 kg of adulterated paneer. Several units have been sealed, and inspections of highway hotels have intensified as part of a state-wide push to combat food adulteration.
Cockroaches found in cakes, sweets
Between Feb 15 and March 1, the health department sealed six units based on citizen complaints. Royal Brothers Cake Bakery in Nikol was sealed on Feb 20 after a complaint of cockroaches in cake. Azad Sweets and Restaurant in Navrangpura was sealed on Feb 26 due to cockroaches found in sweets. Annur Chicken Shop in Khanpur and Le Grand Residency Pvt Ltd in Ellisbridge were sealed on Feb 15 for unhygienic conditions and insects in food, respectively. Rebel Foods Pvt Ltd in Ghuma was sealed on Feb 17 for serving non-vegetarian food despite a vegetarian order. Shivshakti Chavana in Khodiyarnagar was sealed on February 18 for insects in snacks.
