Cow Ghee Milk Bite, Pehalwan, Swift, Sangath batches found unsafe/sub-standard
KD NEWS SERVICE
SRINAGAR, Sep 22: The Jammu and Kashmir Food and Drugs Administration has prohibited the sale, storage, distribution and display of four identified batches of ghee across the Union Territory after laboratory tests found them to be unsafe, sub-standard or otherwise non-compliant with prescribed food safety standards.
The prohibitory order, issued by Khalid Jahangir, Commissioner, Food Safety, J&K, on September 22, 2026, covers specific batches of four brands of desi ghee. The order has been issued under Section 30(2)(a), read with Section 18(1)(f), of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, and has come into immediate effect.
The action follows sampling conducted by Food Safety Officers in Anantnag and Jammu, with the samples subsequently subjected to analysis at the National Food Laboratory, Ghaziabad, and the Food Testing Laboratory, Srinagar.
According to the order, the analytical reports showed that the affected food products failed to conform to the prescribed standards and requirements under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 and regulations framed under it. The findings included the presence of beta-sitosterol, vegetable fat/foreign fat and a positive Baudouin test, besides deviations in prescribed parameters including Reichert-Meissl value, Polenske value, saponification value, B.R. reading, iodine value and fatty-acid profile.
Four brands covered by order
The first product covered by the order is Desi Ghee “Cow Ghee Milk Bite”, manufactured by M/s Mahadev Industries, Rajasthan. The affected batch was sampled in Jammu and bears Batch No. 143, with a July 2026 manufacturing date and April 2027 best-before date. The pack size mentioned in the order is 500 ml. The sample was examined under Test Report No. JK-578/SEP/26/681, dated September 2, 2026, and was classified as sub-standard.
The second product is Desi Ghee “Pehalwan”, manufactured by M/s Comfy Agro Pvt. Ltd., Malout Road, Gidderbaha, District Sri Muktsar Sahib, Punjab. The affected batch is PW-005, manufactured in May 2026, with a best-before period of nine months, and a pack size of 500 ml. The sample was lifted in Anantnag and tested under Report No. JK-433/AUG/26/493, dated August 10, 2026. Its analytical opinion was “Unsafe.”
The third product is Desi Ghee “Swift”, manufactured by M/s Suneja Food Products, SICOP Industrial Estate Hisar, Haryana. The affected batch is M-92, manufactured in April 2026 and bearing an April 2027 best-before date, with a pack size of 450 ml. The sample was collected in Anantnag and examined under Test Report No. JK-474/AUG/26/494, dated August 10, 2026. The product was declared unsafe.
The fourth product is Desi Ghee “Sangath”, manufactured by M/s Akshar Dairy Product, Survey No. 250, Near Railway Crossing, Santhal Circle, Santhal, Ahmedabad, Gujarat. The affected batch is AD-05/01-05-2026/01-02-2027, with a pack size of 200 ml. The sample was lifted in Anantnag and tested under Report No. JK-551/AUG/26/577, dated August 25, 2026. The analytical opinion in this case was “Unsafe/Sub-standard.”
Laboratory findings trigger regulatory action
The Food Safety Administration said the analytical findings were significant because ghee, under the applicable food safety regulations, must conform to standards governing products derived from milk fat.
The order cites the Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Thirteenth Amendment Regulations, 2017, under which ghee is required to be a product derived exclusively from milk or milk products through processes resulting in the almost complete removal of water and non-fat milk solids.
The order also refers to provisions of the Food Safety and Standards (Prohibition and Restrictions on Sales) Regulations, 2011, which prohibit the sale of ghee containing added matter that is not exclusively derived from milk fat.
The presence of vegetable/foreign fat and beta-sitosterol, along with the positive Baudouin test and deviations in various prescribed physicochemical parameters, therefore formed the basis for the regulatory action against the identified batches.
Dealers ordered to stop handling affected stock
The Food and Drugs Administration has directed all Food Business Operators, manufacturers, distributors, wholesalers, retailers and other persons dealing in the affected products to immediately discontinue their sale, storage, distribution and display anywhere in Jammu and Kashmir.
Importantly, the order applies to the specified affected batches, rather than constituting a blanket prohibition on every product manufactured by the companies concerned.
The concerned Food Business Operators have further been directed to segregate the affected stock and keep it under safe custody. They have been prohibited from disposing of, selling, transferring or otherwise dealing with such stock without approval or directions from the competent Food Safety Authority.
Stock details to be submitted within 48 hours
The order has also imposed a reporting requirement on the concerned Food Business Operators.
They have been directed to furnish the complete stock position of the affected batches to the concerned Designated Officer within 48 hours of issuance of the order. The information is required to include the quantity received, the quantity already sold or distributed and the quantity presently available in stock.
This provision is intended to enable the Food Safety authorities to establish the movement and availability of the affected batches within the UT and facilitate their segregation from the market.
Inspections and surveillance ordered
The concerned Designated Officers and Food Safety Officers have been directed to ensure immediate implementation of the prohibitory order and undertake necessary verification and inspection of the concerned premises and supply chains.
Enforcement officers have also been instructed to maintain strict surveillance over the movement, storage, sale and distribution of the affected food articles and to take immediate action wherever the prohibited batches are detected.
Any person found violating the order will be liable for action under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, and the rules and regulations framed thereunder, apart from any other action permissible under law.
Order described as precautionary measure
The Food and Drugs Administration has described the action as an “abundant precautionary measure” in the public interest.
At the same time, the order makes it clear that the concerned Food Business Operators are not being deprived of their statutory right to seek re-analysis through an FSSAI-notified Referral Laboratory, in accordance with the Food Safety and Standards Act and the rules made under it.
The order has been circulated to the Health and Medical Education Department, Food Safety authorities of Haryana, Punjab, Gujarat and Rajasthan, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), the Northern Region office of FSSAI at Ghaziabad, and the Department of Information and Public Relations, J&K, for information and necessary action.
The latest action underscores the Food Safety Administration’s focus on checking the quality and authenticity of dairy products entering or being sold in the J&K market, particularly where laboratory examination indicates deviations from legally prescribed standards for ghee.
