6500 litres of fake ghee found by food regulator during a raid in Delhi and Haryana

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has uncovered an alleged inter-state network involved in the production and distribution of suspected counterfeit ghee, seizing more than 6,500 litres of suspected adulterated products and associated raw materials during coordinated enforcement operations in Delhi and Haryana.

The action was conducted by Central Food Safety Officers under the supervision of Devesh Kumar Mahla, IPS, Director of the Northern Regional Office of FSSAI, in coordination with local police authorities.

Decoy operation leads to investigation

According to FSSAI, the probe was initiated after officials detected digital and print advertisements promoting premium cow ghee and regular ghee without mandatory FSSAI licence details and prescribed labelling information.

Officials then carried out a decoy operation by posing as consumers and purchasing samples of the products. The samples were sent to an FSSAI-recognised NABL-accredited laboratory for analysis.

Laboratory findings showed that the samples failed to meet the standards prescribed for ghee under the Food Safety and Standards Regulations and contained a mixture of vegetable oils and other non-dairy constituents.

Raids conducted in Delhi and Haryana

Based on the laboratory results, FSSAI traced the alleged manufacturing, storage and distribution chain and conducted enforcement operations at multiple locations in Delhi and Haryana on June 17.

In Delhi, officials raided a facility in Village Dhulsiras, Dwarka, linked to Parit Ram. During the operation, approximately 1,020 litres of unidentified oil suspected to be used in the manufacture of counterfeit ghee and around 1,500 litres of suspected adulterated ghee were recovered. The seized stock has been placed under regulatory custody.

In Haryana, a separate operation was carried out at M/S Bala Ji Food Products in Sonipat, where officials seized more than 4,000 litres of suspected adulterated ghee packaged for market distribution.

Speaking about the operation, Mahla said, "We have seized around 6500 liter of adulterated ghee. It was manufactured with vegetable and animal fat as per the lab report. It was a good operation with FSSAI making decoy and organised surveillance and action."

FIR registered, investigation continues

FSSAI said a formal complaint has been filed with local police authorities and an FIR has been registered against those involved. Statutory enforcement samples have also been collected for further examination, while the seized materials remain under regulatory custody.

The regulator said further investigations are underway to identify other entities allegedly connected to the network and reiterated its zero-tolerance policy towards food adulteration and misbranding.

Advisory for consumers

FSSAI urged consumers to exercise caution while purchasing food products and verify the FSSAI licence or registration number, labelling details, manufacturer information and packaging quality. The regulator also advised consumers to be wary of unusually low-priced products, which could indicate counterfeit goods.