Zomato is facing backlash for selling ‘fake paneer’ to restaurants through its B2B business service, Zomato Hyperpure. Let’s take a closer look with details.
Zomata has been receiving severe backlash regarding the supply of ‘fake paneer’ to restaurants via Zomata B2B Zomata Hyperpure. The controversy is due to the product that is sold, namely “Analogue Paneer” which is not, in fact, paneer. The kind of paneer prepared with vegetable fats and no use of dairy element is being sold to restaurants as fit for making tikka and gravy stuffs.
Some people are worried that customers could be taking this substitute, thinking that it is the actual paneer.It went viral when a X user Sumit Behal posted about it on the social media platform. And criticized Zomato for distributing this ‘fake paneer’.
He explained that although this is used by restaurants to prepare this cheaper version they never inform their customers suggesting that customers are eating a healthy dish made from traditional dairy based paneer.Behal’s post elicited anger from people who were unhappy with Zomato Hyperpure for supposedly supporting food adulteration and even misleading consumers. Paneer dish is common in India and people especially vegetarians have raised a concern with what is being served to them.
What Exactly is Analogue Paneer?
Analogue paneer is fake stuff which could be use in place of real paneer. Real paneer, on the other hand, is made from fresh milk where the agent used to curdle the milk is either lemon juice or vinegar While analogue paneer is made from things such as vegetable fats and starchy compounds.Analogue paneer is imitation of the real paneer. Real paneer is got made from fresh milk which is coagulated with lemon juice or vinegar where as in analogue paneer some tactical ingredients like vegetable fats and starches are used. In its listing on the Zomata.com this product under the brand name of analogue paneer in Hyperpure even states that milk fat is substituted with vegetable fat.
Why Do Restaurants Use It?
The simple answer is cost. Analogue paneer costs a lot lower than the original product. On Zomato Hyperpure, analogue paneer is retailing at about ₹210 per kg, but premium real paneer cost ₹450 per kg nearly. Since restaurants can gain more profits by using the cheaper one, and a lot of them do not tell the customers that what they are eating is not actually real paneer.
People have now questioned the health benefits associated with consumption of analogue paneer. Since most people consume paneer as a source of protein, it could be quite disappointing to realize that by using a vegetable fats version, they are not getting the nutrients they want. Further, some of the analogue paneers have largely hydrogenated vegetable fats as their components which should be injurious to heart health. These fats can include trans fats that have been associated with heart disease, high cholesterol and inflammation.
