Restaurants May Soon Be Required to Disclose Use of Non-Dairy Paneer in Dishes

 

Hotels and restaurants may soon be required to inform customers about which dishes contain non-dairy paneer (analogue paneer) instead of traditional milk-based paneer.

A senior government official stated that the Ministry of Consumer Affairs is considering issuing guidelines mandating such disclosure.

Analogue paneer, which is made without milk, is significantly cheaper—about half the price of dairy paneer—but tastes very similar to the real one. Traditional paneer is made by curdling fresh milk with lemon juice or citric acid, while analogue paneer is made using emulsifiers, starch, and vanaspati (hydrogenated vegetable oils).

There have been health concerns raised about the use of substandard vanaspati oils in such paneer alternatives.

Consumer Affairs Secretary Nidhi Khare said that while analogue paneer looks and tastes like traditional paneer, it is not actual paneer and is typically used due to its low cost.