FDCA Gandhinagar found many hotels panner quality low

If you love having paneer preparations from restaurants and hotels, beware! In a recent sample survey by the Food and Drugs Control Administration (FDCA) Gandhinagar, more than 35 per cent of paneer samples from over 300 hotels across Gujarat failed quality tests.

The issue affects popular Punjabi and Kathiawadi restaurants in major cities like Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara and Rajkot, as well as highway establishments that attract weekend diners.

Widespread adulteration found
Food and Drug Commissioner Hemant Koshia said, “Different places in the state have reported incidents of fake or adulterated paneer in the last few months.”
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He noted that people dine out more frequently during festival time like Diwali. 

“Our teams surveyed paneer samples from over 300 hotels across major cities. Using state-of-the-art lab technology, we found that about 35 percent of samples failed quality tests. This means that about 100 hotels were serving fake or adulterated paneer to customers,” he added.

The FDCA teams six to seven manufacturers who were supplying fake or adulterated paneer to these hotels and took legal action. “The raids covered Ahmedabad, Surat, Rajkot, Banaskantha, Kutch and Valsad,” Koshia said.

Understanding paneer quality
Paneer comes in three categories: standard (over 50 per cent milk fat), medium fat (20-50 per cent) and low fat (20 per cent). Only standard paneer should be served commercially. However, manufacturers are mixing palm oil, soy oil and acidic acid to create fake standard paneer with just 10-15 per cent milk fat.

Health implications
MD Physician Dr Praveen Garg says, “Regular consumption of food adulterated with palm or soy oil, fat and acidic acids causes serious diseases. Occasional consumption may cause indigestion, vomiting, diarrhoea, headache, gastritis and allergies. Regular consumption can lead to stomach ulcers, stomach cancer, increased cholesterol, and possible cardiac and cerebral arterial blockages. It may also affect kidney and liver function and cause diabetes.”

AM