New Delhi: Delhi High Court Wednesday sought the response of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), Centre and Delhi govt on a PIL raising concerns over the sale of dairy analogue/non-dairy products as ‘paneer’ to unsuspecting consumers.The petitioners argued that while paneer is a standardised dairy product under food safety regulations, dairy analogue products contain non-milk ingredients and do not offer the same nutritional value.A bench of acting Chief Justice Nitin W Sambre and Justice Sanjay Singh issued notices to FSSAI, Centre and Delhi govt on the petition filed by Ridhima Singh and Avlokiteshwar Padmapani Sidharth, seeking their replies within six weeks.The petitioners contended that consumers ordering paneer-based dishes in hotels and restaurants have no way of knowing whether the food has been prepared using actual paneer or a dairy analogue substitute.Seeking urgent intervention ahead of the festive season, they urged the court to direct authorities to undertake sampling and testing of paneer and products sold as paneer in the market.“They are doing it, they have placed the statistics (before us) to that effect,” the bench observed.The plea stated that states such as Gujarat, Punjab, Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra had already taken steps against the sale of non-dairy paneer. It sought directions to prevent the manufacture, supply, sale or service of dairy analogue paneer in Delhi.The petition also sought directions to ensure that hotels, restaurants, caterers, eateries, cloud kitchens and food delivery platforms clearly disclose the use of analogue or non-dairy substitutes in food products.“A consumer who knowingly purchases a product correctly disclosed as an analogue or non-dairy substitute makes an informed choice. However, a consumer who purchases or orders ‘paneer’ is entitled to receive a product which answers the statutory description of paneer and ought not to be unknowingly supplied a product in which essential milk constituents have been substituted by vegetable fat, vegetable oil or other non-milk constituents,” the petition stated.
