Rampant adulteration

December 12, 2025

A report has recently been released by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). This report indicates that traders of milk and dairy products in Punjab and its neighbouring states are rampantly using chemicals to adulterate milk and paneer, spreading diseases among the general public. The authority’s report states that 47 per cent of the milk samples tested failed. In the last three years, 1915 samples of paneer and other products were taken, of which 902 failed. In 2024-25, 531 samples of paneer and other milk products were taken, and adulteration was found in 235 of them. While milk is often adulterated, even more paneer samples fail the tests. Furthermore, a large quantity of substandard paneer and other dairy products is being supplied to Punjab from other states.

Generally, paneer and other products are being adulterated with starch and sucrose. In Haryana, 1451 samples were taken in the last three years, of which 529 were found unfit for consumption due to adulteration. In Uttar Pradesh, 12,945 samples were taken, but 8,299 of them failed. This means that people’s lives are being jeopardised by the poisonous adulteration of milk and paneer.
Despite the report, no large-scale campaign is being launched to stop this adulteration. At most, the seized goods are destroyed after raids, and shopkeepers are fined. Shopkeepers don’t care about these fines because they earn far more profit by adulterating milk, paneer, and ghee. What is the solution? Only to increase the number of raids. Those who adulterate are criminals against society. They should not only be heavily fined, but these economic offenders should also be given jail sentences. Why does this adulteration not stop? The reason for this is twofold: firstly, the officials responsible for collecting samples say that their numbers are too small, making it impossible to detect adulteration at the level at which it occurs. Secondly, it is understood that adulterated goods are readily sold in our country, and this general acceptance allows major criminals to continue their business with impunity. They even try to silence officials of the relevant departments by bribing them. Only by promptly punishing these criminals and increasing the severity of the penalties will this problem be brought under control.