FDA Raids 3 Outlets Over Paneer Quality

GURUGRAM: The food safety wing of the Haryana Food and Drugs Administration, working with the chief minister's flying squad, raided three dairy and food outlets on Wednesday after complaints of synthetic or substandard paneer, officials said on Friday.

The team, led by Food Safety Officer Dr Manoj Kumar, inspected two establishments in Sohna and one in Palam Vihar. Multiple paneer samples were collected from the counters and sent to the state food testing laboratory in Chandigarh for chemical analysis. Further legal proceedings under the Food Safety and Standards Act will depend on those findings, officials said.

Why stock was not destroyed on the spot

Dr Kumar said the seized paneer looked uncompromised on visual inspection and showed no immediate foul smell or gross contamination. Because conclusive evidence of adulteration needs chemical testing, no stock was destroyed at the counters. Necessary action will follow once the lab report arrives.

Spurious cottage cheese made with palm oil, starch, detergent or synthetic whitening agents routinely floods National Capital Region markets ahead of Dussehra and Diwali, when wholesale demand peaks. Last year the Gurugram food safety wing received more than 40 formal complaints related to adulterated, foul-smelling or spurious dairy products, including flags on expired stock at quick-commerce dark stores and sweet shops across sectors.

The latest drive comes shortly after the state FDA deputed additional veterinary surgeons and technical officers across districts to ease a severe shortage of food safety officers. Enforcement capacity has been thin relative to the volume of dairy trade feeding Gurugram's sweet shops and cloud kitchens. Festival weeks multiply both genuine demand and the incentive to cut corners on milk solids.

Residents who buy bulk paneer for festive cooking should retain bills and note batch markings where available. Lab confirmation, not appearance alone, decides whether a sample breaches standards. Until Chandigarh returns results, the three outlets remain under the shadow of pending analysis rather than a completed finding of adulteration.

Traders associations in Sohna and Palam Vihar have asked for faster turnaround of lab reports so that compliant sellers are not left under open-ended suspicion through the festival months. Consumers who notice unusually cheap paneer with a rubbery texture or chemical aftertaste should report the shop and batch details to the local food safety office rather than relying on social media rumours. Officials said they would share further updates once laboratory or investigation files move to the next formal stage, and residents have been asked to rely on verified police or civic statements rather than unverified forwards. Officials said they would share further updates once laboratory or investigation files move to the next formal stage, and residents have been asked to rely on verified police or civic statements rather than unverified forwards.