HYDERABAD: In a major crackdown on establishments involved in the manufacture and sale of adulterated ghee, authorities seized 36 tonnes of adulterated ghee, raw materials and chemical additives, police said on Tuesday.Acting on credible intelligence and tip-offs received from the public, the Hyderabad Food Adulteration Surveillance Team (H-FAST), in coordination with the Food Safety Department, conducted a special enforcement drive across the city, according to news agency PTI.Teams carried out simultaneous inspections at 130 establishments, including 39 ghee manufacturing units and 91 ghee-selling outlets, Hyderabad Police Commissioner V C Sajjanar told reporters.During the inspections, the teams uncovered large-scale operations in which spurious and substandard ingredients, along with hazardous and unauthorised chemical substances, were allegedly being mixed to produce synthetic ghee, he said.The enforcement teams seized 36 tonnes of adulterated ghee and various materials, including cream used as raw material, palm oil, vanaspathi, artificial ghee flavours, starch and chemical additives.Food safety inspectors also collected statutory samples on the spot for comprehensive laboratory analysis.“This adulterated mixture was deceptively packaged, branded, and distributed to unsuspecting consumers under the guise of ‘Pure Desi Ghee’, posing grave health risks to the public,” Sajjanar said.Investigations revealed that some manufacturers were blending non-milk ingredients such as palm oil, vanaspathi, skimmed milk powder, starch and artificial flavouring to mimic the taste, aroma and appearance of genuine ghee, the Commissioner said.Some of the products contained no dairy components at all.The adulterated ghee was packed in transparent covers and falsely marketed under names such as “100 per cent pure ghee, premium ghee, farm fresh ghee and “natural ghee”, DCP (Task Force) Gaikwad Vaibhav Raghunath said.The packs did not carry mandatory details such as batch or lot numbers, FSSAI licence details, Certificate of Analysis (COA), date of manufacture and packing, and expiry date, Gaikwad said.The adulteration levels ranged from approximately 10 per cent to 40 per cent. The products were allegedly diverted to different end-users depending on the degree of adulteration, including pooja ghee, restaurants and tiffin centres, sweet manufacturing units and ayurvedic shops.The milk cream used in the manufacturing process was procured from suppliers in Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.Police said the adulterated ghee was manufactured at very low cost using cheaper substitute ingredients and then sold in the market as original ghee at higher prices, generating substantial illegal profits.The adulterated ghee was reportedly distributed across Telangana and neighbouring states, posing a serious risk to public health, police added.Police were in the process of registering cases.
