Ahmedabad: Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation has directed food businesses to clearly state whether the paneer they serve is milk paneer or analogue paneer after inspections found widespread quality violations. Over the past three months, AMC collected 85 paneer samples, of which 25 were declared substandard. On Saturday, it emailed more than 15,000 food business operators, instructing them to disclose if the paneer used is dairy-based milk paneer or analogue paneer, a non-dairy substitute.On Saturday, the civic body also collected 22 paneer samples from different parts of the city and imposed penalties of Rs 70,000 under the GPMC Act. It said that hotels, restaurants, and manufacturers must clearly inform customers about the type of paneer being served. It warned that failure to comply would invite strict action under FSSAI rules and the Gujarat Provincial Municipal Corporations Act. The health department said its intensified three-month drive found that substandard paneer samples mainly failed to meet the prescribed fat percentage or used analogue paneer in place of milk paneer. AMC said it has collected more than Rs 3 lakh in fines and launched legal proceedings under the Food Safety and Standards Act against 12 units where analogue paneer was found. The AMC’s health department inspected 4,294 food units across the city between Jan 1 and March 31, destroyed 3,081kg of inedible food, and collected Rs 22.42 lakh in fines. It also issued notices to 1,411 units for violations. During the period, 2,049 food samples were tested and 74 were found non-compliant.
