Shimla, Aug. 21 -- The Himachal Pradesh government has prohibited the manufacture, storage, distribution and sale of non-dairy "analogue paneer" being passed off as genuine paneer across the state.

The order, issued by commissioner of food safety Ashish Singhmar under Section 30(2)(a) of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, has come into immediate effect and will remain operational for one year.

The action follows market surveillance and laboratory testing conducted by the state food safety department, which detected instances of adulteration, misbranding and violations of food safety and traceability requirements.

According to the order, several suppliers were found substituting milk fat with vegetable oils and other non-dairy fat...