Ahead of the festive season, the food safety wing of the Patiala health department has stepped up its drive against the suspected adulteration of dairy products.
On Saturday, officials confiscated around 125 kg of paneer from a dairy located in Chhatera village. They also gathered five samples of paneer and ghee to send for laboratory testing.
The action comes amid concerns over the alleged smuggling of paneer from Haryana into Punjab via the Cheeka-Patiala route.
Punjab has already banned analogue paneer, a product made using non-milk ingredients instead of conventional dairy ingredients, as part of its efforts to prevent the sale of such products as genuine paneer.
During an early morning inspection at Punjab Milk Dairy in Chhatera village, the team found approximately 1.25 quintals (125 kg) of paneer. A sample was collected and sent to a laboratory for analysis, while the remaining stock was seized on suspicion, pending further proceedings under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.
The team inspected different premises in Samana city, collecting three samples of paneer and one sample of ghee. All five samples have been sent for laboratory analysis to ascertain their quality and safety.
Dr Gurpreet Kaur, district health officer, Patiala, said inspections and sampling drives would continue and further action would be taken in accordance with the law based on the laboratory reports.
{{/usCountry}}Dr Gurpreet Kaur, district health officer, Patiala, said inspections and sampling drives would continue and further action would be taken in accordance with the law based on the laboratory reports.
{{/usCountry}}Health minister Dr Balbir Singh has said the government would take every possible step to ensure that people were not supplied with adulterated food.
Responding to a question about paneer allegedly being smuggled from Haryana through Cheeka and the Samana-Patiala belt, the minister had said strict vigilance was being maintained and action would be taken whenever the department received a tip-off. He said teams were working on the ground to ensure food safety, adding that protecting people’s health remained the government’s top priority.