Ranchi: Nearly seven in 10 paneer samples tested at the state food laboratory since Sept 20 have failed quality checks, with Ranchi accounting for five of the more than six samples collected in the district, officials said.The laboratory tested around 60 samples collected from almost all districts. Of these, nearly 40 were statutory samples gathered for possible legal action, while around 20 were surveillance samples collected to monitor food quality.Laboratory analyst Chaturbhuj Meena said most of the failed samples originated in urban areas, including Ranchi. In Dhanbad, one of more than six samples tested failed.Officials also warned consumers about stale or poorly stored paneer, besides products suspected to be adulterated. Under food safety standards, paneer must contain no more than 60% moisture, while milk fat must account for at least 50% of its dry matter.Some samples were suspected to be analogue paneer or to contain starch, commonly known as ararot. Such products may be made by replacing milk constituents with palm oil, starch or plant proteins.Ranchi food safety officer Pawan Kumar said substandard paneer may not provide the nutritional value consumers expect. State joint food safety commissioner Anuj Prasad said further action would depend on the nature of each violation. Inspections will now be extended to milk, cooking oil and khowa.In a related development food safety officials seized and destroyed around 2 kg of paneer at Morabadi vendor market on Friday. Two paneer samples collected from the market failed quality checks and were destroyed on the spot. The team inspected 40 stalls and tested 22 food samples using a mobile laboratory.The latest action follows a series of seizures in Ranchi. On Aug 6, officials seized and destroyed more than 800 kg of suspected adulterated paneer and khowa from a sweet shop on Ratu Road. Samples were sent to the state laboratory for analysis and a show-cause notice was issued to the owner.On Sept 26, a food safety team seized 48 kg of suspected paneer and other food items from a dairy in the Steel Gate area. The dairy was found to have an expired FSSAI licence, while its operator was reportedly absent during the inspection.
