New Delhi:
The raids were carried out on June 17 by Central Food Safety Officers under the guidance of Devesh Kumar Mahla, IPS, Director, Northern Regional Office, FSSAI, in coordination with local police.
Mahla said around 6,500 litres of adulterated ghee had been seized, adding that laboratory findings indicated the product had been manufactured using vegetable and animal fat. He said the operation involved decoy purchases, organised surveillance and enforcement action.
According to FSSAI, the investigation began after officials found digital and print advertisements promoting premium cow ghee and regular ghee without mandatory FSSAI licence details and prescribed labelling information. Officials then posed as consumers, procured samples and sent them to an FSSAI-recognised NABL-accredited laboratory.
The laboratory found that the samples did not meet the prescribed standards for ghee under food safety regulations and contained vegetable oils and other non-dairy constituents.
Following the findings, FSSAI teams traced the alleged manufacturing, storage and distribution network. In Delhi, officials raided a facility at Village Dhulsiras in Dwarka linked to Parit Ram and recovered around 1,020 litres of unidentified oil suspected to be used as raw material, along with nearly 1,500 litres of suspected adulterated ghee.
In Haryana, officials raided M/S Bala Ji Food Products in Sonipat and seized more than 4,000 litres of suspected adulterated ghee that had been packaged for market distribution.
FSSAI said a formal complaint had been lodged with local police and an FIR registered. The seized material has been placed under regulatory custody, while statutory enforcement samples have been drawn for further analysis.
The regulator said further investigation is underway to identify other entities allegedly linked to the network. It reiterated its zero-tolerance approach towards food adulteration and misbranding, and advised consumers to check FSSAI licence or registration numbers, labelling details, manufacturer information, packaging integrity and unusually low prices while buying food products.
