The Health Department of Punjab took 435 samples of desi ghee in 2022-23. Of these, 131 i.e. 30 percent failed the department’s test. Surprisingly, out of 131 samples, ghee was found to be fake in 80 percent of the samples. The quality in the remaining 20 percent samples was very poor. Sources inform that fake ghee is being sold in two ways in Punjab. First of all, desi ghee without government license is being sold as jotaan (lamp-lighting) ghee priced at Rs 135-150 per kg. The second way is that by making similar names and packaging of big private brands, shopkeepers are selling desi ghee at the price of the original brand. Verka's Jalandhar Plant General Manager Asit Sharma says that only 5 kg of desi ghee can be made from one quintal of milk. In such a situation, awareness among customers regarding purity is necessary.
Rameshwar Singh Saraikhas, chairman of the committee of Jalandhar plant of Punjab's largest cooperative desi ghee brand Verka, said that fake desi ghee is made by mixing vegetable ghee, palm oil and butter milk. If you burn it, black smoke will come out. There will be less odour as compared to pure ghee. Its authenticity can also be tested in the lab. In order to protect the customers from imitators in the packing of Verka's ghee, the designing is changed after a certain time interval. Along with this, barcoding and hallmarking is done. If you scan the barcode, you will get information about the entire batch of ghee. But scanning the code on counterfeit package will not take you to the official page of the brand. Cooperative and private brand from other states other states are also using QR codes, barcodes, and raised images of the company brand.
Shopkeepers are earning Rs 250 to 450 on one box of fake ghee
The shopkeeper gets a box of fake ghee for about Rs 135 per kg. It is sold to the customer between Rs 400 and Rs 600. There is a fake barcode and fake address on the packing. The name is kept similar to the name of the established brand, only one or two letters are different. For example, a cheap brand of ghee available with a brand name is being sold in the market under the name of Fortuner.