Not all paneer is real: Scientist reveals what’s hiding in your food

This is not the first time that ‘analogue paneer’ is a subject of discussion, it has been a part of social media debate and even on the radar of Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) for sometime now.

What is paneer?

Explaining it, Dr Surendra Nath Battula, retired principal scientist, National Dairy Research Institute, Bangalore, said that paneer is clearly defined in FSSAI regulation.

“Paneer is a product obtained from any variant of milk — with or without added milk solids — by precipitation with permitted acidulants and heating. In practice, you boil the milk, add a permitted acidulant such as citric acid, lactic acid or glucono delta-lactone, coagulate it, press it into blocks and that is paneer. The regulation specifies exactly which acidulants are permitted — it is not open to any acidulant of your choice,” he said, adding that certain products that imitate it have been in the market for some time, and FSSAI has created a category to accommodate them called Dairy Analogs.

“The definition, as it appears in the regulation, is: a product in which constituents not derived from milk take the place — in part or in whole — of any milk constituent, and the final product resembles milk or a milk product organoleptically and functionally,” added Dr Battula, who is also a member of Scientific Panel on Milk and Milk Products, FSSAI.

In simple terms, milk constituents like protein or fat are partially or wholly replaced in these dairy analogs, and a common person cannot tell the difference between what they are eating and the genuine dairy product, he explained.

How is analog paneer made?

Paneer analogues are look-alike products that resemble paneer in appearance and texture, but are not made entirely from milk.

“Analogue paneer, which has been in news in the recent months, is made by blending vegetable oils (palm oil), vegetable fats (palm stearin), starches, and milk solids (SMP), plant proteins (soy, pea) along with stabilizers, emulsifiers and artificial flavours, and curdling the blend using the common acidulants. This process creates a cheaper substitute that mimics the look and texture of real paneer but has a different nutritional profile,” he said, adding that it is not paneer as per the regulation and because it does not use milk fat and milk protein; it is considerably cheaper to produce. “Genuine branded paneer sells for around Rs 400 – 500 per kilo. Analog paneer, I believe, is available in the unorganised market at around Rs 150 per kilo; often it is marketed as paneer.”

Why it cannot legally be called paneer

FSSAI regulation, says Dr Battula, is very clear on this point. Dairy terminology, including the word paneer, cannot be used for a product that does not comply with the standards defined in the regulation. “The same principle applies elsewhere: plant extracts, say soy milk, cannot be called milk because milk is defined as the lacteal secretion obtained from milch animals — cow, buffalo, goat, sheep and camel, the five species specified by FSSAI. Similarly, plant based fats such as vanaspathi cannot be called vegetable ghee. And a product that does not meet paneer standards cannot be called paneer.”

The same logic applies to frozen desserts versus ice cream. Ice cream must contain a minimum of 10 percent milk fat and 3.5 percent milk protein. When manufacturers began replacing milk fat and milk protein with vegetable fat and plant protein, the term frozen dessert was introduced. These products look and taste like ice cream but cannot legally be called ice cream. The same framework is now being applied to paneer, he explained.

How big is the problem?

When asked how big the problem is, Dr Battula said that it is a serious matter of concern. “Most of what comes to our attention through media reports and FSSAI surveillance is that analog paneer is predominantly made in the unorganised sector — loose, unbranded, sold without packaging. A consumer who believes they are getting paneer at an unusually low price has no way of knowing it is not paneer at all. The quality and safety of such products can be highly compromised because it is not clear on what types of ingredients are used, which oils replace the milk fat, or what standards the final product must meet,” he said, adding that the bulk of analogue paneer consumption is not household — it is in hotels, restaurants and catering. “As a consumer buying from a shop, you can choose a reliable organised brand. But when you eat at a restaurant, you have no visibility into what kind of paneer has gone into your dish.”

What is being done about it

Three measures are currently in place or in consideration, said Battula, “First, the word paneer cannot legally be used for a product that does not comply with the paneer standard — this is already established in regulation. Second, FSSAI has a milk logo — the drop-of-milk symbol you see on packets from organised dairy brands like Gokul and Nandini. A product that does not comply with the regulation as a dairy product is not permitted to use this logo. This gives consumers a visual clue without requiring them to read labels closely. Third, when samples are collected by FSSAI authorities and tested, and if the product does not comply with paneer standards, action can be taken against the manufacturer.”

Being cheaper alternatives to dairy products, dairy analogues are often used to mimic the popular dairy products, especially paneer. “This is a serious issue since such analogues are (mis)-used as the corresponding dairy product especially in the Hotel, Restaurants and Cafes/Catering (HoReCa) Sector. While provisions do exist in the Regulations, as detailed above, there is a need to introduce suitable standards to differentiate the dairy products and their analogues. Distinct nomenclature, labelling and standards can help distinguish paneer from its analogue. Restricting the marketing of dairy analogues, especially paneer analogues, only in the pre-packaged form of small quantities (say up to maximum 500 g per package) may also help avoid their misuse in HoReCa sector,” he added.

Calling Maharashtra FDA’s decision mandating restaurants to declare on their menu and billing if they are using analog paneer, a welcome move, he added that the HORECA sector — hotels, restaurants and catering — is where the impact is greatest. “A national policy of this nature is both foreseeable and necessary,” he shared.

Are there health concerns?

On the health side, the concern is real, he says. Genuine paneer, made from milk with permitted acidulants, has defined compositional standards for fat and moisture; it also requires adding standard for milk protein as paneer is a key protein source for India’s vegetarian population. With analogue paneer made mostly in the unorganised sector, there is no clarity on what oils are used, what other ingredients go in, or what quality and safety measures are applied. That uncertainty is itself a safety concern,” he said.

The fundamental objective of FSSAI is to ensure that safe and wholesome food reaches the consumer. “Therefore, it is certain that the food authority is considering this issue seriously and is actively addressing so that consumers should be able to know, without ambiguity, whether what they are eating is paneer or paneer analogue.”

How can consumers identify Paneer on labels?

“Paneer will clearly be labelled as: “Paneer”, “Low Fat Paneer”, “Medium Fat Paneer”,” he said, adding that low fat paneer and medium fat paneer shall be sold in sealed package only and shall bear the label declaration. “For medium-fat paneer, the label must also mention: ‘Contains … % Milk Fat’,” he said.

He also added, “Further, as per the draft notification F.No. SS-T017/1/2023-Standard-FSSAI, 17 February 2025 of FSSAI, all milk and milk products, including composite milk products, as per Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Regulations, 2011 shall carry the milk drop logo on the label of the products.”