MP Bans Analog Paneer; 450 Kg Seized In Indore

The state government has cited particularly health concerns for its decision to prohibit production, sale and consumption of analog paneer, a non-milk product, in Madhya Pradesh.

Madhya Pradesh has become the fourth state after Maharashtra, Gujarat and Chhattisgarh to ban analog paneer.

“We are banning the analog paneer in Madhya Pradesh. We will boost natural milk production and produce paneer naturally”, chief minister Mohan Yadav said while holding a meeting with officials of food and civil supply department here on Wednesday.

Analog paneer is made of vegetable fats or starch, in place of milk or mixed with the milk.

It is a cheaper substitute for natural milk-paneer.

While natural milk-paneer is sold at market at Rs 450- Rs 470 per kg, the analog paneer is available at Rs 200-Rs 220 per kg.

Hotels, restaurants and the catering business sector are particularly the biggest purchasers of analog paneer.

According to a Food and Safety Department official, around 14,000 quintals of analog paneer are consumed every month in Madhya Pradesh, particularly in restaurants.

Following the announcement by the chief minister, the Food and Safety Department directed all the district wings to seize the factories making analog paneer.

A raid by the local Food and Safety Department in a dairy factory in Indore, led to seizure of 450 kg of analog paneer, officials said on Wednesday.

The Chhattisgarh government has also started cracking down on the sale of analog paneer in the state.

Last week, around 500 kg of suspected analog paneer were seized in Raipur by the food controller officials.

The consignment was coming from Madhya Pradesh in the Amarkantak Express to Raipur for marketing at several places in Chhattisgarh and western Odisha.

Samples of the seized paneer have been sent to the laboratory for tests, officials said.