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, JK, under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, with immediate effect.
The samples were collected by Food Safety Officers from Anantnag, Jammu, Kathua, Samba and Pulwama and tested at notified laboratories, including the National Food Laboratory, Ghaziabad, and the Food Testing Laboratory, Srinagar.
According to the FDA, laboratory analysis detected beta-sitosterol, vegetable fat and foreign fat in the tested products. The reports also recorded positive Baudouin test results and deviations in parameters including Reichert-Meissl value, Polenske value, saponification value, B.R. reading, iodine value and fatty-acid profile.
The affected products and batches are:
Cow Ghee Milk Bite — Desi Ghee: Manufactured by M/s 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 a net content of 500 ml. It was declared sub-standard.
Pehalwan — Desi Ghee: Manufactured by M/s Comfy Agro Pvt. Ltd., Gidderbaha, District Sri Muktsar Sahib, Punjab. The sample was collected from Anantnag and belonged to batch No. PW-005, dated May 2026. It had a nine-month best-before period and a net content of 500 ml. It was classified as unsafe.
Swift — Desi Ghee: Manufactured by M/s Suneja Food Products, SICOP Industrial Estate, Hisar, Haryana. The sample was collected from Anantnag and belonged to batch No. M-92, dated April 2026, with an April 2027 best-before date and a net content of 450 ml. It was declared unsafe.
Sangath — Desi Ghee: Manufactured by M/s Akshar Dairy Product, Santhal, Ahmedabad, Gujarat. The sample was collected from Anantnag and belonged to batch No. AD-05/01, dated May 2026, with a February 2027 best-before date and a net content of 200 ml. It was classified as unsafe/sub-standard.
The FDA has directed food business operators, including manufacturers, distributors, wholesalers, retailers and others dealing with the affected products, to immediately stop their sale, storage, distribution and display across J&K.
The operators have also been instructed to segregate the affected batches and keep them in safe custody. They cannot dispose of, sell, transfer or otherwise deal with the stock without approval or directions from the competent Food Safety Authority.
The concerned operators have been directed to submit details of the stock, including quantities received, sold or distributed and currently available, to the respective Designated Officer within 48 hours of the order being issued.
Designated Officers and Food Safety Officers have been instructed to implement the order, conduct inspections and verify premises and supply chains. They have also been directed to monitor the movement, storage, sale and distribution of the prohibited products and take action wherever the affected batches are found.
The FDA said violations of the order would attract action under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, and the rules and regulations framed under it, in addition to any other action permissible under law.
The order states that the prohibition has been imposed as a precautionary measure in the public interest. It also allows the concerned food business operators to exercise their statutory right to seek re-analysis through an FSSAI-notified referral laboratory in accordance with law.
