Fake ghee racket busted! Hyderabad police seize 25.5 tonnes of adulterated ghee, 1,200 litres of palm oil

What many consumers bought as a trusted staple is now under scrutiny in Hyderabad, where police said they had uncovered a large network allegedly making adulterated ghee with palm oil, vanaspati, starch and artificial flavours, and selling it as "100% Pure Ghee". On Tuesday, Hyderabad City Police said they had seized 36 tonnes of adulterated ghee and raw materials in a coordinated drive across 130 establishments.

Police Commissioner V.C. Sajjanar said the operation was carried out by the Hyderabad Food Adulteration Surveillance Team (H-FAST) with the Food Safety Department, acting on intelligence inputs and public information. Teams inspected 39 manufacturing units and 91 ghee-selling outlets. “Food adulteration is a serious threat to public health and strict action will be taken against those involved in manufacturing and selling such products,” he said.

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How the network allegedly worked

According to Sajjanar, the product was adulterated in two ways. In one method, milk or milk fat was not used at all, and palm oil, vanaspati and artificial ghee flavour were used to imitate the taste, aroma and appearance of cow or buffalo ghee. In the other, skimmed milk powder with almost 0% milk fat was mixed with palm oil, vanaspati, starch and artificial ghee flavour to make a product that did not contain milk fat.

Hyderabad Police Task Force and H-FAST DCP Gaikwad Vaibhav Raghunath said genuine ghee contains 95.5% milk fat and that 30 to 35 litres of milk are needed to prepare one litre of ghee. With processing, packing and other costs, one litre would cost more than ₹1500, he said, while adulterated or substandard ghee was being sold in the market for ₹600 to ₹700 a litre.

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Seizures, supply chain and labels

The seized material included 25.5 tonnes of adulterated ghee, 8.7 tonnes of cream, 1,200 litres of palm oil, 600 litres of vanaspati, 30 kg of starch and six bottles of artificial ghee flavours. Food safety officials collected statutory samples for laboratory analysis, and the seized material was handed over to the Food Safety Department.

🚨 FAKE GHEE FACTORY BUSTED!

Hyderabad Police seize:

> 25.5 TONNES adulterated ghee
> 1,200L palm oil
> 600L vanaspati

Cheap oils + artificial flavours were allegedly being turned into “synthetic ghee.” pic.twitter.com/cnCEOyMddH

— The Analyzer (News Updates🗞️) (@Indian_Analyzer) August 18, 2026

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The commissioner said alleged adulteration ranged from 10% to 40%, with products supplied to different end-users depending on the level. These included deepam/pooja ghee, restaurants, tiffin centres, sweet manufacturers, bakeries, caterers, Ayurvedic shops, dairy shops and hotels, including star hotels.

Products were allegedly packed in transparent covers and sold under labels such as "100% Pure Ghee", "Premium Ghee", "Farm Fresh Ghee" and "Natural Ghee". Police said many packets lacked batch or lot numbers, FSSAI licence information, certificate of analysis, and manufacturing, packing and expiry or use-by dates.

Health advisory and public appeal

Police alleged the network had an inter-State procurement chain, with cream sourced from Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, and products distributed across Telangana and neighbouring States. They said the use of refined palm oil, palm kernel oil, palmolein, chemical additives and artificial flavours could pose health risks, including higher LDL cholesterol, cardiovascular disease, stroke, and digestive, liver, kidney, skin and metabolic problems. Police said laboratory analysis would establish the precise nature and extent of adulteration.

“Public participation is crucial in the fight against food adulteration. Citizens should remain vigilant and report suspected cases so that timely enforcement action can be taken,” Mr. Sajjanar said. He also said, “Consumers are strongly advised to purchase ghee, milk and other dairy products only from reputed and licensed vendors and ensure that the packaging has intact tamper-proof seals, complete manufacturer details and a valid FSSAI licence.” Police asked people to avoid suspiciously cheap or loose unbranded ghee and uncertified food outlets, and said suspected cases could be reported on Dial 112 or the H-FAST helpline at 8712661212. The identity of informants, they said, would be kept confidential.