Kataka: The Food Safety Department has lodged an FIR against 11 people in connection with the alleged adulteration of paneer in Kataka, officials said. All the accused are reportedly from the Niali area and include paneer manufacturers and sellers.

The Food Safety Department has submitted the names, addresses and phone numbers of all 11 accused to the police for investigation.

The development comes after laboratory tests of paneer and cottage cheese samples seized during enforcement raids in Kataka reportedly detected starch and detergent, raising concerns over food safety.

Around 73 quintals of paneer and chhena (cottage cheese) were seized from the Niali area in four phases on August 18, 19, 21 and 22 by the Health and Food Safety Wing of the Cuttack Municipal Corporation. The seized products were subsequently destroyed.

Cuttack Municipal Corporation Health Officer Dr Nrupendra Kumar Satapathy said the city requires around 80 tonnes of paneer daily to meet market demand.

Meanwhile, the Utkal Dugdha Jatiya Drabya Byabasayi Sangh, a regional trade association and welfare union in Odisha, has backed action against unscrupulous traders while maintaining that not all paneer currently entering the market is adulterated.

The union secretary Pradip Behera said the association also wants those involved in adulteration to be punished. He said all dairy farmers should not be blamed for the alleged malpractice.

Behera added that if the supply of chhena from Niali declines, areas such as Jajpur, Athagarh and Naugaon could help meet the shortfall in Cuttack's market.

He described the laboratory findings indicating the presence of detergent in paneer as a matter of concern.

Protest in Niali

Meanwhile, dairy farmers and local residents in Niali staged a protest on Monday against what they described as attempts to defame Niali's paneer industry.

A protest meeting was organised in front of the Niali tehsil office under the banner of the Niali Swabhiman Bachao Abhiyan. The Niali Block Yadav Mahasabha also participated in the protest.

The protesters sought to defend the reputation of Niali's paneer and dairy producers, amid growing scrutiny following the seizure and laboratory testing of adulterated products.

The food safety authorities' action is part of a wider crackdown on adulteration in Odisha, with the state government recently informing the Assembly that special enforcement drives have been conducted against adulterated paneer and chhena.