Paneer made with veg oil, FDA collects samples
21/08/2024 (Times of India), Noida - A Greater Noida resident claimed a block of paneer he bought from a local store was laced with vegetable oil — a commonly used as adulterant to keep cottage cheese soft for long.
Gaurav Kumar Yadav, a resident of Stellar Jeevan Apartments in Greater Noida West, said that when he went to chop the paneer he had just bought, he found his hands covered in oil.
He claimed it was the first time that he had purchased paneer from the store near his housing complex.
He claimed the manufacturer is based in Agra.
“Most of the society’s residents purchase paneer from there. Several local restaurants also purchase paneer from the store and we may have been consuming the adulterated product for long,” he said. Yadav also posted a video of the adulterated paneer on X, which was shared several times on the social media platform on Tuesday.
“I came to know that this paneer was manufactured in Agra. Later, when I called the spokesperson he denied all the allegations and, on top of it, claimed that I had mixed vegetable oil in it,” he said.
Officials from the food safety department took cognizance of the video and began an investigation. “We sent a team to take the samples which will be sent for lab tests,” assistant commissioner of the food safety department Sarvesh Mishra said. This is not the first time adulterated food products have entered the markets. In March, six samples of paneer were found to be unsafe for consumption. As per reports, the unadulterated paneer was made by mixing milk powder and water, which is further curdled with lime juice and acetic acid. Then, vegetable oil was added to make it appear creamy and glossy.