The Special Operations Group (SOG) seized 800 kg of fake paneer from a factory on 150-ft Ring Road on Wednesday night. The operation, based on specific intelligence, targeted the Gujarat Foods factory near Sheetal Chowk, which was reportedly operating under unhygienic conditions. The factory was run by Hardik Kariya, according to SOG Inspector SM Jadeja.
The seized paneer, made from milk powder, acetic acid and palm oil, was found to be unfit for human consumption. According to Jadeja, the factory had been producing this adulterated paneer for the past year.
It has been revealed that the fake paneer was being supplied to numerous restaurants across the city, including popular establishments and those in star-rated hotels, where the price of a single plate of paneer could cost as much as Rs 600 to Rs 800. Rajkot is home to at least 800 hotels, restaurants, and banquets, many of which may have unknowingly served this harmful product to their customers.
Kariya’s factory employed migrant labourers to produce the fake paneer at a production cost of approximately Rs 130 per kilogram, selling it to hotels and restaurants for up to Rs 180 per kilogram. The factory was operating in a rented premises belonging to Prime Plast PVC Furniture.
The SOG team also seized 21 gas cylinders, acetic acid, palm oil, and packaging material, with a total value of Rs 1.31 lakh. The stock of adulterated paneer seized was valued at Rs 1.2 lakh.
The Food and Drugs Control Administration (FDCA) has been notified, and samples of the paneer have been sent to a laboratory in Vadodara for testing. “Once the laboratory results confirm the presence of harmful or non-edible substances, a case will be filed under the Food Safety and Standards Act,” said the police.
Authorities are also probing Kariya’s distribution network to determine which areas in Rajkot city and surrounding regions received the adulterated paneer.
This is not the first instance of large quantities of fake paneer being seized in the state.
On December 11, FDCA officials raided Alia Milk Products in the GIDC area of Chhapi town, Banaskantha district, and confiscated 915kg of suspected adulterated paneer, worth Rs 2 lakh. This paneer was reportedly being supplied to various highway eateries.
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