The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has proposed new regulations that could prevent non-dairy analogue products from being sold or marketed as “Paneer” across the country.
The proposal is part of the draft Food Safety and Standards (Prohibition and Restrictions on Sales) Amendment Regulations, 2026. Under the draft, products made from constituents not derived from milk would not be permitted to be represented as paneer.
Products already licensed or registered under the “Analogue in Dairy Context” category would also have to discontinue the use of the term “Paneer” in their nomenclature, labelling, and marketing.
The issue was first raised in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly in March 2025 by Shrigonda MLA Vikram Pachpute,
who highlighted concerns over non-dairy products being sold or served as paneer.
Pachpute had brought samples of genuine dairy paneer and an analogue alternative before the Assembly to highlight the difficulty consumers could face in distinguishing between the two products based on their appearance.
The intervention raised concerns around more than just food terminology, including consumers’ right to know what they are being served, food safety, and the interests of genuine milk-producing farmers.
The issue subsequently led to a series of regulatory developments in Maharashtra. Restaurants, hotels, caterers, and fast-food establishments using analogue paneer or cheese were directed to clearly disclose its use on menu cards or displays, allowing consumers to make an informed choice.
Maharashtra later imposed a one-year prohibition on the manufacture, storage, distribution, sale, and food-service use of analogue or non-dairy paneer. The latest FSSAI draft now proposes taking the issue to the national level by restricting the representation of non-dairy products as paneer across India.
Welcoming the development, Pachpute said the issue had moved from a question raised in the state legislature to a national regulatory discussion. “It is rare to see an issue first raised by a legislator in a State Assembly travel all the way to the national regulatory level and receive such serious consideration. What began as a question about what consumers were actually being served has today become part of a nationwide regulatory discussion,” said Pachpute.
FSSAI has opened the draft regulations for public consultation, with a 60-day period for stakeholders to submit their suggestions before the framework is finalised. Consumers, dairy farmers, industry representatives, consumer organisations, doctors, nutrition experts, and food-safety professionals have been urged to participate in the consultation process and submit constructive suggestions that could help strengthen the proposed regulations.
The proposed changes are yet to be finalised and will be subject to consideration of the feedback received during the consultation process.
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