A shocking case of food terrorism has come to light in Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, where a large-scale fake paneer (cottage cheese) manufacturing unit was busted by the Food Safety and Drug Administration (FSDA). The factory, owned by one Mohammed Khalid, was found producing and distributing paneer laced with dangerous industrial chemicals, capable of causing severe health disorders and even death. Authorities revealed that Khalid was raking in a staggering Rs 42 lakh every month through this illegal and deeply hazardous trade.
Located in the heart of Gorakhpur, the now-sealed factory was operating quietly, far from public suspicion, yet supplying fake dairy products to a large network of vendors in nearby districts such as Kushinagar, Maharajganj, Sant Kabir Nagar, and Deoria. During the raid on, May 21 2025, FSDA officials found 40 quintals of adulterated paneer being produced using just 25 litres of spoiled milk an impossibility unless one resorts to chemical manipulation.
ये जिहाद का नया मामला है–पनीर जिहाद!
गोरखपुर , UP में खालिद भाई केमिकल से नकली पनीर बनाकर 42 लाख रु महीना छाप रहे थे।
इस पनीर में पोस्टर कलर, फैब्रिक व्हाइटनर, डिटर्जेंट, पाम ऑयल, सैकरीन की मिक्सिंग की जाती थी। pic.twitter.com/ugv5NsK2e4— 𝙼𝚛 𝚃𝚢𝚊𝚐𝚒 (@mktyaggi) May 25, 2025
The materials used in the production left even seasoned officials shocked. The fake paneer was being made using a toxic blend of poster colours, fabric whitener, detergent, palm oil, soap nuts, saccharin, and even sulphuric acid, a highly corrosive industrial chemical. These substances are not only unfit for consumption but known to cause long-term health complications including kidney damage, cancer, skin burns, hormonal disorders, and irreversible neurological damage.
Such was the level of sophistication that the paneer looked and smelled like the real thing, making it nearly impossible for ordinary consumers and small-time vendors to detect the fraud. Khalid and his team had reportedly even brought in workers from Haryana—a state where similar fake paneer operations have previously been unearthed—to run the illegal unit with technical expertise.
According to a senior FSDA officer, the adulterated product was being distributed under the guise of authentic dairy goods and consumed by thousands, if not lakhs, of unsuspecting families. “This is no ordinary case of food adulteration. This is systematic, organised public poisoning, a silent form of bio-terrorism,” the officer said. “We are dealing not just with criminals, but with enemies of public health.”
During the raid, over 250 kilograms of the toxic paneer was seized and destroyed on the spot. The facility was promptly sealed, and legal proceedings were initiated against Mohammed Khalid. He has since been arrested and charged with multiple offences under food safety, public health, and criminal laws.
Local residents, many of whom had quietly suspected something foul in the area’s dairy supply chain, expressed relief and outrage in equal measure. “We thought the paneer tasted odd sometimes, but never imagined such dangerous things were being mixed in it,” said a local vendor who unknowingly sourced from Khalid’s network. “What if our children had fallen seriously ill?”
Senior food safety officials have warned that such fake dairy production units are not isolated incidents, but part of a growing underground economy of synthetic food manufacturing that prioritises profit over lives.
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