Hyderabad police seize 36 tonnes of adulterated ghee

Hyderabad police have seized 36 tonnes of adulterated ghee and raw materials after inspecting 130 establishments across the city, officials said on Tuesday. The Hyderabad Food Adulteration Surveillance Team (H-FAST) along with the Food Safety Department raided 39 manufacturing units and 91 selling outlets. Police Commissioner V.C. Sajjanar said the product was made using palm oil, vanaspathi, starch and artificial flavours instead of milk fat, and sold as '100% Pure Ghee'.

The seized material included 25.5 tonnes of adulterated ghee, 8.7 tonnes of cream, 1,200 litres of palm oil, 600 litres of vanaspathi, 30 kg of starch and six bottles of artificial ghee flavours. The Times of India reports some products contained no dairy components at all. Adulteration levels ranged from 10% to 40%, police said. The products were supplied to restaurants, sweet manufacturers, caterers, Ayurvedic shops and star hotels, and also marketed as deepam or pooja ghee.

The cream was sourced from suppliers in Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The Hindu reports that genuine ghee costs over Rs 1,500 per litre, while the adulterated product was sold at Rs 600 to Rs 700 per litre. Statutory samples have been sent for laboratory analysis. Police have urged consumers to exercise caution and report suspected cases.