India, Aug. 24 -- The Pahala rasagola market in Odisha is facing a severe slowdown following the Food Safety Department's crackdown on adulterated chhena (Indian cottage cheese), a key ingredient used to make the popular sweet.

The supply of chhena to Pahala has dropped sharply over the past three days, leaving sweet shops struggling to maintain production. At the same time, rising sugar prices have added to the problems faced by traders.

According to Pahala sweet shop owners, the market, which has around 100 shops, earlier received nearly 40 quintals of chhena every day. However, the supply has now fallen to around 10 quintals, making it difficult for the shops to meet demand.

A major portion of the chhena supplied to Pahala comes fr...