In a major crackdown on illicit adulterated ghee manufacturing and trading establishments here, a total of 36 tonnes of adulterated ghee, raw processing materials, and chemical additives were seized, police said on Tuesday.
Acting on credible intelligence and actionable tip-offs received from the public, the Hyderabad Food Adulteration Surveillance Team (H-FAST) in joint coordination with the Food Safety Department, conducted a special enforcement drive. Teams conducted simultaneous inspections across 130 establishments, including 39 ghee manufacturing units and 91 ghee-selling outlets, Hyderabad Police Commissioner V C Sajjanar told reporters.
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During the inspections, the teams unearthed large-scale operations where spurious, substandard ingredients and hazardous, unauthorised chemical substances were being systematically mixed to produce synthetic ghee, he said.
In the course of the drive, the enforcement teams seized a total of 36 tonnes of adulterated ghee, cream (raw material), palm oil, vanaspathi, artificial ghee flavours, starch, and chemical additives.
{{/usCountry}}In the course of the drive, the enforcement teams seized a total of 36 tonnes of adulterated ghee, cream (raw material), palm oil, vanaspathi, artificial ghee flavours, starch, and chemical additives.
{{/usCountry}}Food safety inspectors collected statutory samples on the spot for comprehensive laboratory analysis.
"This adulterated mixture was deceptively packaged, branded, and distributed to unsuspecting consumers under the guise of 'Pure Desi Ghee', posing grave health risks to the public," Sajjanar said.
Investigations revealed that certain manufacturers blended non-milk ingredients such as palm oil, vanaspathi, skimmed milk powder, starch and artificial flavouring to mimic the taste, aroma and appearance of genuine ghee, the Commissioner said.
Some products contained no dairy components at all.
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The adulterated products were packed in transparent covers and falsely marketed under names such as "100 per cent pure ghee, premium ghee, farm fresh ghee and "natural ghee", DCP (Task Force) Gaikwad Vaibhav Raghunath said.
These packs did not carry mandatory details such as batch or lot number, FSSAI licence details, Certificate of Analysis (COA), date of manufacture and packing and expiry date, Gaikwad said.
The adulterated ghee, with adulteration levels ranging from approximately 10 per cent to 40 per cent, was selectively diverted to different end-users based on the degree of adulteration, including pooja ghee, restaurants and tiffin centres, sweet manufacturing units and ayurvedic shops.
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The milk cream used in the manufacturing process was procured from suppliers located in Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
The adulterated ghee was manufactured at very low cost using cheaper substitute ingredients and was subsequently sold in the market as original ghee at higher prices, thereby generating substantial illegal profits, police said.
The adulterated ghee was reportedly distributed across Telangana and neighbouring states, thereby posing a serious risk to public health, police added.
Police were in the process of registering cases.