Overview

• The Indian government will soon require restaurants to disclose on menus whether dishes contain traditional dairy-based paneer or non-dairy analogue paneer.
• Analogue paneer, made from vegetable oils and starches, mimics traditional paneer but lacks key nutrients and may pose health risks such as elevated cholesterol and digestive issues.
• The initiative follows public backlash, triggered by an X user in October, over undisclosed use of analogue paneer in restaurant dishes and packaged products.
• Inspections in cities like Noida revealed that 83% of paneer samples failed quality tests, with 40% deemed unsafe for human consumption.
• The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has also launched a consultation on labelling rules and introduced a digital portal for consumer complaints about misleading food labels.