Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
Madhya Pradesh has joined a small but growing list of states that have banned analogue paneer, the synthetic version of the popular dairy product. The August 12 order to the effect followed reports that the product could be dumped in Madhya Pradesh in huge quantities from neighbouring Gujarat, Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra, where a ban on analogue paneer was enforced earlier this month.
advertisement
Officially, though, the Madhya Pradesh government said the decision had been prompted by health concerns. Chief minister Mohan Yadav announced that sale and use of analogue paneer was prohibited with immediate effect.
The ban also coincides with an ongoing crackdown in parts of the country on adulterated and unsafe food products. What exactly is analogue paneer? It is a factory-made imitation of paneer in which milk fat has been replaced by vegetable fat. While analogue paneer looks and tastes like the original, the protein content is much lower.
Compounding the health hazard is the fact that analogue paneer is a product of choice for those in mass food catering and restaurant business because it’s cheaper than the original product. While regular paneer costs around Rs 400 a kilo in Madhya Pradesh, analogue paneer is sold at half the price.
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) does not allow analogue paneer to be marketed as paneer because this falsifies its claim to be a dairy product.
Paneer is one of the most common sources of protein for vegetarians and, therefore, in high demand. The vegetable oil used in making analogue paneer is not only unhealthy but also prone to impurities. In fact, vegetable oil adulteration is an issue food regulators have been grappling for years.
According to food department and industry sources in Madhya Pradesh, the total consumption of paneer in the state in a month is estimated to be around 10,000 quintals. In Bhopal alone, it is around 40 quintals daily, but half of that supply is feared to be of analogue paneer.
Subscribe to India Today Magazine
– Ends
SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
