Hyderabad busts the most sophisticated dairy fraud in history; raid on 45 shops
Suspense Crime, Digital Desk : You'll want to know this The next time you buy cheese, you’ll have to be very careful, as police investigations have revealed a huge dairy scam being carried out in the city of Hyderabad where thousands of unaware citizens have been conned into buying imitation cheeses which can be harmful to their health. Over 800kgs of suspicious and adulterated cheese have been seized by the Hyderabad Commissioner's Task Force after a day of extensive raids on retailers and producers. How did the police get wind of this fraudulent operation? Authorities formed a dedicated team which had conducted special raids on around 45 dairy shops as well as eight cheese factories across the city. In their inspection, the police stumbled upon a number of shop owners who had been systematically fooling unsuspecting customers. Instead of genuine cheese, these traders had been selling something known as 'cheese analogs' as the real thing. What is ‘cheese analog’? It needs to be noted that ‘cheese analog’ are not derived from dairy products. They are rather made from a concoction of vegetables, fat, starchy products like potato starch (also known as 'ara rot'), imitation or diluted milk and many other non-dairy ingredients. This imitation cheese was being cleverly sold off at shops as varieties of paneer, milk cheese, cream cheese and even fresh paneer through bold signage on products. Shockingly, many of these products did not even bear the necessary labelling such as manufacturing date, batch number, expiry date, etc.Playing with other states for ‘more’ profits DC P Vaibhav Gaikwad Raghunath said: “Some shopkeepers, in order to increase their margins, have been purchasing fake cheese at a much cheaper rate from manufacturers in neighbouring states of Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh and retailing it in Hyderabad at the same price as real cheese. They have even been procuring large quantities of these products in bulk without licences and repacking it as ‘premium cheese’.” Dangerous for human consumption, and a violation of the FSSAI act! The investigation revealed that the food processing factories responsible for manufacturing these chemicals in the guise of food items had extremely unhygienic working conditions. Moreover, many were operating without FSSAI licenses. These producers used starchy elements, and large quantities of water along with other ingredients which are not considered fit for human consumption to add weight to their imitation cheese and make it seem much fuller than it is. A lot of starch, excess water and non-edible contents were being used in producing this fake cheese. Dr. Vaibhav Gaikwad stated, “This will create serious health complications including food poisoning, allergic reactions and other issues.” Strict legal action against them has been promised. What the authorities advising the public After initial tests on samples of the captured cheese being conducted at laboratories, raids will continue over the coming days, the administration stated. The public is advised that they should avoid buying cheese which is being sold at cheaper rates and without labels. Always make a sure to buy from authorised dealers, checking the company name, brand and expiry date before. If you discover such adulteration or product, don't forget to report to the FSSAI (Food Safety Department).
