Patiala, Oct. 11 -- Ahead of the festive season, the food safety wing of the Patiala health department has stepped up its drive against the suspected adulteration of dairy products.

On Saturday, officials confiscated around 125 kg of paneer from a dairy located in Chhatera village. They also gathered five samples of paneer and ghee to send for laboratory testing.

The action comes amid concerns over the alleged smuggling of paneer from Haryana into Punjab via the Cheeka-Patiala route.

Punjab has already banned analogue paneer, a product made using non-milk ingredients instead of conventional dairy ingredients, as part of its efforts to prevent the sale of such products as genuine paneer.

During an early morning inspection at Punjab Mil...