Examiner News Desk | Srinagar:
The Food and Drugs Administration (FDA), Jammu and Kashmir, has prohibited the sale, storage, distribution and display of specified batches of four ghee brands across the Union Territory after laboratory tests found the products to be unsafe, sub-standard or both.
The prohibitory order was issued on September 22 by Khalid Jahangir, Commissioner, Food Safety, J&K, under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, and came into force with immediate effect.
The samples were collected by Food Safety Officers from Anantnag, Jammu, Kathua, Samba and Pulwama and analysed at notified laboratories, including the National Food Laboratory, Ghaziabad, and Food Testing Laboratory, Srinagar.
According to the FDA, laboratory analysis detected substances including beta-sitosterol, vegetable fat and foreign fat in the tested products. The reports also recorded positive Baudouin test results and deviations in several quality parameters, including Reichert-Meissl value, Polenske value, saponification value, B.R. reading, iodine value and fatty-acid profile.
The affected batches identified in the order are:
- Cow Ghee Milk Bite — Desi Ghee: Manufactured by Mahadev Industries, Rajasthan. The sample was collected from Jammu and belonged to Batch No. 143, dated July 2026, with an April 2027 best-before date and 500 ml net content. It was declared sub-standard.
- Pehalwan — Desi Ghee: Manufactured by Comfy Agro Pvt. Ltd., Gidderbaha, Sri Muktsar Sahib, Punjab. The sample was collected from Anantnag and belonged to Batch No. PW-005, dated May 2026, with a nine-month best-before period and 500 ml net content. It was classified as unsafe.
- Swift — Desi Ghee: Manufactured by Suneja Food Products, SICOP Industrial Estate, Hisar, Haryana. The sample collected from Anantnag belonged to Batch No. M-92, dated April 2026, with an April 2027 best-before date and 450 ml net content. It was declared unsafe.
- Sangath — Desi Ghee: Manufactured by Akshar Dairy Product, Santhal, Ahmedabad, Gujarat. The sample collected from Anantnag belonged to Batch No. AD-05/01, dated May 2026, with a February 2027 best-before date and 200 ml net content. It was classified as unsafe/sub-standard.
The FDA has directed manufacturers, distributors, wholesalers, retailers and other food business operators dealing with the specified batches to immediately stop their sale, storage, distribution and display anywhere in J&K.
The affected stock must be segregated and kept in safe custody. Operators have been barred from disposing of, selling, transferring or otherwise dealing with the prohibited batches without approval or directions from the competent Food Safety Authority.
Concerned operators have also been directed to submit details of the stock—including quantities received, sold, distributed and currently available—to the respective Designated Officer within 48 hours of the order.
Designated Officers and Food Safety Officers have been instructed to conduct inspections and verify premises and supply chains to ensure compliance. They will also monitor the movement, storage, sale and distribution of the affected batches and initiate action wherever the prohibited products are detected.
The FDA said violations would invite action under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, and the rules and regulations framed under it, besides any other action permissible under law.
The prohibition has been imposed as a precautionary measure in the public interest, the order said.
At the same time, the affected food business operators retain their statutory right to seek re-analysis through an FSSAI-notified referral laboratory, in accordance with the applicable law.
