FSSAI prohibits sale of Shraddha, Shree Saras, Gokul ghee over adulteration concerns

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has prohibited the sale of all variants of ghee manufactured, stored or sold by SDP Industries Private Limited from its authorised premises in Ringanwada, Daman, after laboratory tests found multiple samples failed to meet food safety standards.

It has suspended Delhi-based Marche Retail Pvt Ltd’s licence for 30 days over food safety violations and ordered Daman-based SDP Industries Pvt Ltd to stop selling all ghee variants over alleged non-compliance and adulteration.

The prohibition, which takes effect immediately and remains in place until further orders, applies to all ghee variants produced or handled by the company from the premises, irrespective of brand, product name, type, batch or lot. The FSSAI release named brands including “SHRADDHA”, “SHREE SARAS” and “GOKUL” as examples.

The action follows an enforcement inspection and sampling carried out on 19 May 2026, when multiple samples of ghee manufactured by the food business operator were found to be non-compliant.

According to FSSAI, laboratory analysis detected β-sitosterol, a plant sterol that is required to be absent in ghee, as well as non-conformity in the fatty-acid composition. The authority said the findings indicated the presence of foreign or vegetable fats and raised serious food safety concerns.

The company exercised its statutory right to appeal the initial laboratory findings, following which the samples were sent to a Referral Food Laboratory for re-analysis.

FSSAI said reports from the referral laboratory, received in August 2026, confirmed non-conformity in the tested samples, further supporting the regulatory action.

The authority said the latest findings were part of a pattern of repeated non-compliance rather than an isolated case.

Earlier enforcement and surveillance samples, including those collected in 2024 and January 2026, had also shown non-conformity in several parameters, including β-sitosterol, fatty-acid profile, B.R. reading, R.M. value, saponification value and Polenske value.

SDP Industries had also previously faced adjudication proceedings over non-compliant ghee. An adjudication order dated 18 August 2023 resulted in a penalty in a case involving sub-standard ghee.

According to the release, a subsequent offence was proceeded against under Section 64 of the Food Safety and Standards Act, and a fine was imposed on 14 October 2025.

Given the repeated findings across different samples, periods and ghee variants, the Designated Officer determined that the issue could not reasonably be restricted to a particular batch or product.

The prohibition was imposed under Section 36(3)(b) of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, along with applicable provisions of the Food Safety and Standards Rules and Regulations.

FSSAI described the action as a preventive measure in the interest of public health and consumer safety and directed that the affected ghee products must not be sold or placed on the market until further orders.