The food regulator, FSSAI, has proposed a ban on the manufacture and sale of analogue paneer.
Analogue paneer is not made from milk; rather, it is made from non-dairy constituents. In the dairy context, an analogue is a food that looks or tastes like milk or a milk product, but is made with non-dairy ingredients replacing some or all of the real milk components.
FSSAI has issued a draft Food Safety and Standards (Prohibition and Restrictions on Sales) Amendment Regulations, 2026. It has given 60 days to stakeholders to submit objections or suggestions on the draft regulations, which seek to amend the Food Safety and Standards (Prohibition and Restrictions on Sales) Regulations, 2011.
The food regulator has also taken action against food business operators and e-commerce platforms, including Amazon, Swiggy Instamart, BigBasket, Flipkart India and Zepto, over misleading claims, hygiene issues and other food-safety violations.
It has also taken steps against energy drink makers and alcoholic beverage companies.
“The amendment is proposed...to restrict manufacturing and sale of analogue products as paneer so as to prevent misleading of consumers regarding the nature and composition of the product,” the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) said in a notification.
It also says that products already licensed or registered under the ‘Analogue in Dairy Context’ category should stop using the term ‘paneer’ in their packaging, nomenclature or marketing.
Many states have already banned the manufacture and sale of analogue paneer.
Meanwhile, the Health Ministry, in a statement, said FSSAI has proposed a ban on the use of the term ‘paneer’ for non-milk-derived products.
“The proposed amendment is aimed at ensuring that the nomenclature and presentation of food products accurately reflect their nature and composition, thereby enabling consumers to make informed choices,” the ministry said.
The proposed amendment seeks to insert a new clause under the existing regulations, specifically covering ‘paneer made of constituents not derived from milk’.
(With agency inputs from PTI)
It has also taken steps against energy drink makers and alcoholic beverage companies.
