Foreign Fat Found In Ghee, J&K FDA Bans 4 Batches

(MENAFN- Kashmir Observer) Srinagar- The Jammu and Kashmir Food and Drugs Administration has banned the sale, storage, distribution and display of four identified batches of ghee after laboratory tests found them failing prescribed food safety standards, with three brands classified as unsafe and one as sub-standard.

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The prohibitory order, issued by Commissioner Food Safety J&K Khalid Jahangir, covers the affected batches of Cow Ghee Milk Bite, Pehalwan, Swift and Sangath and applies across the Union Territory with immediate effect.

The action follows the lifting of samples by Food Safety Officers from Anantnag, Jammu, Kathua, Samba and Pulwama, which were subsequently analysed at the National Food Laboratory, Ghaziabad, and the Food Testing Laboratory, Srinagar.

-Foreign fat, vegetable fat detected

According to the FDA order, a copy of which lies with Kashmir Observer, laboratory findings in the affected samples included the presence of beta-sitosterol, vegetable fat and foreign fat, along with a positive Baudouin test and deviations in several prescribed parameters used to assess the quality and composition of ghee.

These included Reichert-Meissl value, Polenske value, saponification value, B.R. reading, iodine value and fatty-acid profile.

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The findings led authorities to conclude that the affected products did not conform to the standards and restrictions applicable to ghee under food safety regulations.

Under the prescribed standards, ghee must be derived exclusively from milk or milk products, with processes resulting in the almost complete removal of water and non-fat milk solids.

Four brands under scanner

The FDA order identifies the following affected batches:

• Cow Ghee Milk Bite - manufactured by M/s Mahadev Industries, Rajasthan. The sampled batch, bearing batch number 143, with a July 2026 manufacturing date and April 2027 best-before date, was declared sub-standard.
• Pehalwan - manufactured by M/s Comfy Agro Pvt. Ltd., Gidderbaha, Punjab. Batch PW-005, manufactured in May 2026, was declared unsafe.
• Swift - manufactured by M/s Suneja Food Products, SICOP Industrial Estate, Hisar, Haryana. Batch M-92, manufactured in April 2026, was declared unsafe.
• Sangath - manufactured by M/s Akshar Dairy Product, Ahmedabad, Gujarat. Batch AD-05, manufactured on May 1, 2026, was classified unsafe/sub-standard.

The FDA has specifically prohibited the identified batches-not necessarily every product manufactured under the respective brand names.

Dealers ordered to pull affected stock

The order directs manufacturers, distributors, wholesalers, retailers and other food business operators dealing in the affected products to immediately stop their sale, storage, distribution and display across J&K.

Businesses holding the affected stock have also been ordered to segregate it and keep it under safe custody.

They cannot sell, transfer, dispose of or otherwise deal with the stock unless permitted or directed by the competent Food Safety Authority.

48-hour deadline for stock details

The FDA has given concerned food business operators 48 hours to furnish complete details of the affected stock to the concerned Designated Officer.

The information is required to include the quantity received, the quantity already sold or distributed and the quantity currently available in stock.

Designated Officers and Food Safety Officers have been directed to carry out inspections and verify compliance across the concerned premises and supply chain.

-Violators face action

The administration has warned that anyone found violating the prohibitory order will face action under the relevant provisions of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, and associated rules and regulations.

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

Companies retain right to seek re-analysis

The FDA order, however, makes clear that the action is a precautionary measure in the public interest and does not take away the statutory right of the concerned food business operators to seek re-analysis through an FSSAI-notified referral laboratory in accordance with law.

The order has been issued under Section 30(2)(a), read with Section 18(1)(f), of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, which empowers the Commissioner of Food Safety to prohibit the manufacture, storage, distribution or sale of food where such action is considered necessary in the interest of public health.

The immediate concern for consumers and retailers is therefore the identification and removal of the specific affected batches from the J&K market while the regulatory process, including any statutory re-analysis available to the concerned food businesses, remains open.

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