Now Reading: FSSAI suspends licence, bars ghee sales over adulteration
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FSSAI suspends licence, bars ghee sales over adulteration
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has suspended for 30 days the food licence of Delhi's Marche Retail Private Limited and barred Daman's SDP Industries Private Limited from selling all its ghee products. Marche Retail's licence was suspended after an inspection found design, maintenance, hygiene, staff training and record-keeping violations. SDP Industries faces a prohibition order on ghee sold under the Shraddha, Shri Saras and Gokul brands after lab tests detected A-sitosterol, a compound absent in pure ghee, and irregular fatty acid profiles indicating possible vegetable oil or other foreign fat adulteration.
The regulator has directed SDP Industries to stop production, storage and marketing of ghee from its authorised premises. This crackdown comes as FSSAI intensifies food safety checks on restaurants, retailers and consumer brands. In recent weeks, major chains including KFC, Pizza Hut, McDonald's, Subway, Burger King, Starbucks and Monginis have been inspected, along with quick-commerce platforms Zepto, Blinkit and Instamart.
Marche Retail must rectify all deficiencies before resuming operations. FSSAI continues to act on violations of food safety, hygiene, labelling and quality standards.
Indian Opinion Analysis
The FSSAI action against ghee adulteration targets a staple in Indian kitchens where price competition often cuts corners. Ghee is a high-value commodity, and vegetable fat substitution, detected via A-sitosterol and fatty acid profiles, lowers production costs at the expense of purity. The three brands affected, Shraddha, Shri Saras and Gokul, are mass-market names, so the prohibition order could affect lakhs of consumers. What matters now is whether the companies comply within the suspension period or challenge the findings, and how quickly FSSAI completes its broader audit of quick-commerce and fast-food outlets that began in recent weeks.
Source: bazaar.businesstoday.in
This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above. Methodology and corrections.
