Hundreds of kilograms of suspected adulterated and misbranded paneer (cottage cheese) products were seized across the city after the Hyderabad Food Adulteration Surveillance Team launched a crackdown on the sale of analogue cheese products allegedly being passed off as paneer to consumers.

During the raids conducted on Wednesday (June 17), officials inspected around 45 food business outlets and eight manufacturing units, seizing approximately 825 kg of suspected adulterated and misbranded products. Samples have been collected for laboratory analysis, while further action is being initiated under food safety laws.

Investigators found that cheese analogue products, which are manufactured using vegetable fats and other non-milk ingredients, were allegedly being sold as paneer, malai paneer and milk paneer without proper disclosure. Officials said the practice amounts to misbranding and deceiving consumers who believe they are purchasing dairy-based paneer.

According to the Task Force, food business operators were procuring cheese analogue products from manufacturers and suppliers in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh before selling them as paneer. In some instances, the products were reportedly marketed under labels such as “Low Fat Paneer”, “Medium Fat Paneer” and “Fresh Paneer”, while others were sold without manufacturing details, batch numbers or expiry dates.

Officials said some traders who ordered paneer were themselves supplying analogue cheese products as substitutes, while certain retailers knowingly sold the products as paneer to secure higher profits.

The investigation revealed that manufacturers often supplied the products with labels clearly identifying them as “Cheese Analogue” and carrying declarations such as “contains no dairy fat”. However, authorities alleged that these products were subsequently repackaged or sold loose at the retail level without proper declarations.

The raids also uncovered licensing and food safety violations. Officials said some manufacturers and retail establishments were operating without valid Food Safety and Standards Authority of India licences. Certain operators were allegedly procuring cheese analogue in bulk and repacking it under labels such as “Premium Paneer” without licence, traceability or mandatory declarations.

Authorities further reported suspected adulteration practices including the addition of starch, excess water, non-milk fats, poor-quality or synthetic milk and other non-compliant substances. Violations relating to mandatory labelling requirements and unhygienic storage conditions were also detected during inspections.