Foreign fat found in ghee: JK bans sale of four brands; check names here

Srinagar: The Jammu and Kashmir Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) has barred the sale, storage, distribution and display of specified batches of four ghee brands across the Union Territory after laboratory examinations found the products to be unsafe or not meeting prescribed standards.

The order was issued by J&K Commissioner Food Safety Khalid Jahangir on September 22 under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, following the collection of samples by Food Safety Officers from Anantnag, Jammu, Kathua, Samba and Pulwama.

The samples were examined at the National Food Laboratory in Ghaziabad and the Food Testing Laboratory in Srinagar. According to the analytical reports, the products failed to meet the standards and requirements laid down under the Food Safety and Standards Act and its associated regulations.

The brands mentioned in the order are Cow Ghee Milk Bite, Pehalwan, Swift and Sangath.

The FDA said the tests detected substances including beta-sitosterol, vegetable fat and foreign fat. The reports also recorded a positive Baudouin test and variations in several prescribed parameters for ghee, including Reichert-Meissl value, Polenske value, saponification value, B.R. reading, iodine value and fatty-acid profile.

As per the order, the sampled batch of Cow Ghee Milk Bite in Jammu was classified as sub-standard. The Pehalwan and Swift batches collected in Anantnag were declared unsafe, while the Sangath batch was found to be unsafe/sub-standard.

The affected products include a 500-ml batch of Cow Ghee Milk Bite, manufactured by Mahadev Industries, Rajasthan; a 500-ml batch of Pehalwan, manufactured by Comfy Agro Pvt Ltd, Punjab; a 450-ml batch of Swift, manufactured by Suneja Food Products, Haryana; and a 200-ml batch of Sangath, manufactured by Akshar Dairy Product, Gujarat.

The Commissioner has directed food business operators, manufacturers, distributors, wholesalers, retailers and others handling the identified products to immediately stop their sale, storage, distribution and display anywhere in JK.

The operators have also been instructed to segregate the affected batches and keep the stock in safe custody. The products cannot be sold, transferred, disposed of or otherwise dealt with without permission or directions from the competent Food Safety Authority.

The FDA has further ordered the concerned operators to provide details of the affected stock—including quantities received, sold or distributed and the stock currently available—to the respective Designated Officer within 48 hours of the order.

Food Safety and Enforcement Officers have been directed to ensure compliance with the order and carry out inspections and verification at the relevant premises and throughout the supply chain.

Anyone found violating the directions will face action under the applicable provisions of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, and the rules and regulations framed under it.

Authorities have also been instructed to maintain close surveillance over the movement, storage, sale and distribution of the prohibited products and take immediate action wherever the affected batches are detected.

The FDA said the restriction was imposed as a precautionary measure in the public interest. The order also provides the concerned food business operators an opportunity to exercise their statutory right to seek re-analysis of the samples through an FSSAI-notified referral laboratory in accordance with the law.