Government is strict on synthetic cheese, FSSAI imposed complete ban on its sale, licenses of 1,000 companies will be cancelled.

FSSAI Bans Sale of Synthetic Paneer: The government has prepared to take strict action against the sale of synthetic cheese in the Indian markets. In this context, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has decided to completely remove synthetic cheese, which has low nutritional value and is harmful to health, from the market.

Two FSSAI officials informed that a high level committee formed to stop the sale of fake cheese had finalized the proposal related to it in October 2025, which has got official approval in the meeting held in March 2026.

Preparing to ban the sale of synthetic cheese

Officials said that the committee believes that India is the largest dairy producing country in the world, but despite this, cheap synthetic cheese is being sold in large quantities in the market. Which looks like real cheese and is also similar in taste. Due to which it becomes difficult for common customers to differentiate between real and fake cheese and they end up consuming fake cheese by mistake. Due to which their health is seriously affected. Besides, these fake cheeses also promote many diseases.

1,000 companies making synthetic cheese

According to official figures, about 1,000 companies in the country have licenses to make synthetic cheese. But now FSSAI is planning to remove it from the market in a phased manner. At present there is no complete ban on the sale of synthetic cheese. Under the new policy, there will be a complete ban on issuing new licenses. Apart from this, the companies which have the license of synthetic cheese will be given sufficient time to liquidate the existing stock and stop production.

Why was the decision taken?

Officials said that the trend of ‘synthetic cheese’ has increased rapidly in the market for some time. It is a cheap alternative to cheese. Which is made from palm oil, milk powder, starch and emulsifiers instead of fresh milk. Synthetic cheese looks exactly like real cheese. But in terms of quality and nutrition, it is much inferior to cheese made from real milk. Synthetic cheese is used in many restaurants due to its cheapness. Due to which consumers get confused. FSSAI is now implementing a new policy to deal with this.

Paneer market is growing in India

In India, cheese is considered a major source of protein, especially in the North Indian states. This is the reason why the cheese market is continuously growing in India. According to statistics, the cheese market in the country has reached 10.8 billion dollars. According to an estimate, the Indian cheese market may reach around $22.1 billion by the year 2033, with an annual growth rate of 8.7%.

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According to FSSAI, the price of genuine branded cheese in the market is around Rs 450 per kg, whereas, synthetic cheese sold in the open is sold at a price of Rs 250 to Rs 300 per kg. Due to which the customer is easily attracted towards synthetic cheese. Apart from this, synthetic cheese is also harmful. The amount of protein in it is very less and fat is very high. Excessive consumption of which can have serious effects on health. This can cause insulin resistance in the body, which can cause type-2 diabetes.