Archive · 6 Aug 2026
Maharashtra Bans Analogue Paneer for One Year After Test Failures
Paneer is a soft cheese made from milk, and lots of people in India love to eat it.
Some food makers were making fake paneer using vegetable oil instead of milk.
This fake paneer looks like real paneer but is not the same.
The government of Maharashtra tested many paneer samples in laboratories.
More than one in three samples did not pass the quality tests, and some were not safe to eat.
Hotels and restaurants were serving this fake paneer without telling customers.
To keep people safe, the government banned fake paneer for one whole year.
Anyone who breaks the rule can be fined or sent to jail.
Companies could also lose their licences to sell food.
This rule helps make sure the food we eat is safe and honest.
Maharashtra banned the manufacture, processing, storage, transportation, distribution and sale of analogue (non-dairy) paneer for one year.
Laboratory tests of 308 paneer samples collected between April 2025 and March 2026 found 109 (35.4%) non-compliant, including 79 sub-standard and 30 unsafe.
Several samples contained vegetable fats and vegetable oils in place of natural milk fat, misleading consumers.
The ban also covers hotels, restaurants, caterers, cloud kitchens and other food service establishments, which are prohibited from using, storing or serving analogue paneer.
A statewide enforcement drive will inspect, sample, seize and destroy suspected products, with violators facing fines, imprisonment, licence suspension and prosecution.
- Who
- The Maharashtra government, through FDA Commissioner and Food Safety Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe and the state Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
- What
- A one-year ban on the manufacture, processing, storage, transport, distribution and sale of analogue (non-dairy) paneer, including its use in food service establishments.
- When
- Gazette order issued on July 30, 2026, and reported on August 5, 2026, based on samples tested between April 2025 and March 2026.
- Where
- Maharashtra state, India.
- Why
- Because 35.4% of tested paneer samples failed quality standards and some were unsafe, with products using vegetable fats instead of milk fat and misleading consumers.
- Ban
- One-year ban on analogue (non-dairy) paneer in Maharashtra
- Non-compliant samples
- 109 of 308 (35.4%)
- Sub-standard samples
- 79
- Unsafe samples
- 30
- Sampling period
- April 2025 - March 2026
- Legal basis
- Section 30(2)(a) of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006
- Gazette order date
- July 30, 2026
- Coverage
- Manufacturers, warehouses, transport, markets, hotels, restaurants, caterers, cloud kitchens
