The Delhi High Court on Wednesday sought the stand of the FSSAI, the Centre and the city government on a PIL raising concerns over the sale of dairy analogue/non-dairy products as 'paneer' to unsuspecting consumers.
The petitioners contended that while paneer is a standardised dairy product under the food safety regime, a non-dairy, analogue product contains non-milk ingredients and lacks the same nutritional value.
A bench of acting Chief Justice Nitin W Sambre and Justice Sanjay Singh issued notices to the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), the Centre and the Delhi government on the petition filed by Ridhima Singh and Avlokiteshwar Padmapani Sidharth, and asked them to file their replies within six weeks.
The petitioners contended that a person consuming a paneer-based product in a hotel or a restaurant has no means to know whether the dish is prepared using actual paneer or a dairy analogue.
They sought urgent directions from the court in view of the festive season, asserting that the authorities should undertake sampling and testing of paneer and products represented as paneer in the market.
"They are doing it, they have placed the statistics (before us) to that effect," the bench responded.
The plea said that Gujarat, Punjab, Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra have already taken steps against non-dairy paneer, and sought directions to the authorities to prevent the manufacture, supply, sale or service of dairy analogue paneer in the capital.
It also prayed for directions to the authorities to ensure that hotels, restaurants, caterers, eateries, cloud kitchens and e-commerce food businesses provide clear disclosure on the use of analogue/non-dairy substitutes in their food.
"A consumer who knowingly purchases a product correctly disclosed as an analogue or non-dairy substitute makes an informed choice. However, a consumer who purchases or orders 'paneer' is entitled to receive a product which answers the statutory description of paneer and ought not to be unknowingly supplied a product in which essential milk constituents have been substituted by vegetable fat, vegetable oil or other non-milk constituents," the petition said.
