The finding that nearly 70% of paneer samples collected from several urban areas of Assam over the past ten months failed quality and safety standards is a serious public health alarm, underscoring the need for stronger food safety enforcement and consumer vigilance. The crackdown on adulteration is laudable, but deterrent punishments and sustained monitoring of unscrupulous traders remain essential to ensure strict compliance. A statewide prohibition on the manufacture, storage, transportation, distribution and sale of adulterated paneer and other dairy products must be paired with a large-scale consumer awareness campaign.
Consumers often buy cheaper unbranded dairy products instead of branded and Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI)-licensed alternatives, leaving them exposed to deceptive, adulterated, substandard and unsafe foods. The absence of an FSSAI licence number and adequate labelling makes it hard for officials to trace origin and distribution chains, allowing manufacturers, distributors and sellers to evade accountability. The state government’s decision to link accountability to failure to produce authentic purchase receipts addresses traceability and fixes responsibility along the manufacturing and distribution chain.
Demand for paneer has risen in Assam not only during festivals but also to meet growing demand from restaurants, hotels, street food carts, marriages and other social events. Stronger vigilance and frequent sample testing from these sources are critical to enforcing the prohibition on fake paneer. Deploying more mobile testing laboratories, known as Food Safety on Wheels, would enhance regulatory oversight through on-the-spot testing.
Increased seizures of adulterated paneer across states have pushed FSSAI’s proposed amendment into policy focus. The draft notification issued in September would require products licensed or registered under the “Analogue in Dairy Context” category to stop using the term “Paneer” in nomenclature, labelling or marketing. Analogue paneer is made by partly or fully replacing milk fat and other milk constituents with cheaper substitutes such as vegetable oil, palm oil or starch. FSSAI defines “Analogue in Dairy Context” as lookalikes of milk products whose major milk constituents have been replaced with non-milk ingredients. Existing norms require such products to be licensed and clearly labelled, but if the draft is finalised, paneer analogues will be barred from using the term “Paneer.”
Proper labelling can help consumers choose between real dairy paneer and analogues, but the bigger challenge is preventing the sale of unbranded, unlabelled analogues without a valid FSSAI licence as paneer. The pragmatic solution is to educate consumers to insist on an FSSAI licence for all food items. FSSAI prohibits food businesses without a valid licence and registration, yet many consumers are unaware of this legal safeguard. Greater awareness can hold food business owners accountable and improve compliance, especially as the number of food safety officials has not kept pace with the growth of food businesses. A review of penalties is also needed to determine whether they deter adulteration and fraud. Combining enforcement with consumer awareness is the urgent need of the hour.
Original Source: https://www.sentinelassam.com/more-news/editorial/two-pillars-of-food-safety
Category: Editorial
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Publish Date: 2026-11-05 10:01:00
