Bengaluru: Two out of 17 samples of paneer tested by the department of food safety and drug administration have been found unsafe for consumption.
A total of 231 samples were collected by the department. While details are yet to be furnished on the aspects of what made it unsafe, the department’s commissioner Srinivas K said testing is still under way.
“There is talk about unsafe paneer samples. There is substandard paneer, and one company doesn’t know the ingredients. To make it commercially like a cake, they would put certain ingredients. Most foods, for instance, khova, which is used for sweets, come from Tamil Nadu,” said Bangalore Hotels Association president Subramanya Holla S who has personally stopped eating paneer outdoors.
“The protein content depends on the quality of milk and that should be scrutinised along with the procedure of preparing paneer,” he said. Holla added that most people opt to fry paneer to enhance taste, but it increases fat content.
He admitted that hotels cannot depend on homemade paneer as the requirement per outlet would be about 10kg a day, which is unviable to supply.
“A lot of hotels use Nandini milk products because of their good quality. Paneer supplied under the brands would be Rs 400 per kg. There are unbranded ones that have penetrated into the market, which even sell for Rs 150. A lot of unbranded khova and paneer are said to come from Tamil Nadu,” said Krishna Raj, owner of Nisarga Grand Hotel.
“You need milk to be pasteurised to ensure there is no Salmonella and Listeria (bacteria that can cause food-borne illnesses) carried on. When you fry something, it causes it to be fatty, and so is the case with paneer. All milk products have cholesterol and fat, and should be taken in moderate amounts,” said Dr Devanshi Somaiya, senior research physician at Public Health Research Institute of India (PHRII).
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Rs 62k fine on unhygienic hotels
On March 26 and 27, the department conducted extensive inspections at units manufacturing ice cream and cool drinks locally.
In another series of inspections on March 12, pest control measures, including for rats and cockroaches in hotels/restaurants, were checked. While 479 hotels were inspected all over the state, 174 notices were issued due to unhygienic conditions and a penalty of Rs 62,000 is to be levied.
