Sandeep Aggarwal supports stricter checks on misrepresented dairy analogues, calls for transparent labelling, predictable inspections and voluntary product testing.
SAHARANPUR: Madhusudan, the principal dairy brand of SMC Group, has welcomed the festive-season food-safety enforcement drive against suspected adulterated and misrepresented dairy products. Company representative Sandeep Aggarwal has also pledged to share part of the seasonal business gains with milk producers, urging dairy processors not to use the crackdown as a reason to raise consumer prices.
In an interview with DairyNews7x7 editor Kuldeep Sharma ahead of Diwali, Aggarwal said enforcement by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) and state food-safety authorities was helping address competition from low-priced substitutes sold as conventional dairy products.
Enforcement against misrepresented dairy products
Aggarwal said the current enforcement measures were primarily affecting the sale of low-cost dairy substitutes represented as genuine dairy products, rather than disrupting milk supplies or the manufacture of cream-based ghee.
He argued that such products had taken business away from genuine dairy suppliers serving sweet manufacturers, hotels and other food businesses.
Aggarwal welcomed the implementation of existing food-safety legislation and product standards, while calling for consistent and fair enforcement. He said Madhusudan would make its manufacturing facilities and laboratories available for regulatory inspections.
He also highlighted industry concerns about delays in receiving laboratory reports and uncertainty over the procedures that follow inspections and sample testing.
Links between milk-fat demand and farmers’ returns
Aggarwal connected the enforcement drive with the economics of milk procurement, particularly the value of milk fat.
He explained that farmers’ payments are substantially influenced by the fat content of milk, while demand for products such as ghee, butter and cream contributes to the market value of milk fat.
According to his estimates, producing one kilogram of ghee requires approximately 15–18 litres of buffalo milk or around 25 litres of cow milk. One kilogram of paneer, he said, requires approximately 5–6 litres of milk.
He argued that when vegetable-fat products are sold as genuine dairy products, they can displace demand for milk-based products and consequently affect procurement opportunities for dairy farmers.
Aggarwal urged processors to share part of the benefits arising from improved market conditions with their milk suppliers. He also encouraged companies to test their products voluntarily rather than waiting for regulatory inspections.
Calls for clearer labelling and supply-chain traceability
On dairy analogues, Aggarwal acknowledged that properly manufactured and labelled vegetable-fat products have legitimate applications in lower-priced consumer segments, industrial uses and certain export markets.
He identified the main concern as products being sold under a different description after leaving the manufacturing facility. According to him, some products are supplied with labels and invoices identifying their composition but may subsequently be presented as paneer after their original packaging is removed.
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He pointed to loose sales through sweet shops and catering businesses as a challenge for regulations that rely heavily on packaged-product labelling.
Aggarwal supported temporary restrictions introduced by several states and called for stronger transparency measures, including:
- Clear and prominent declarations of product composition.
- Disclosure of analogue products at retail counters and on restaurant menus.
- Invoice records maintained throughout the distribution chain.
- Consistent identification of dairy and non-dairy products at the point of sale.
He said these measures would also protect analogue manufacturers from having their products misrepresented by downstream sellers.
Restaurants and consumers urged to verify product composition
Aggarwal said restaurants and caterers could save only a few rupees by substituting analogue products for milk-based paneer in certain dishes, while potentially exposing themselves to regulatory, licensing and reputational risks.
He encouraged food-service businesses serving dairy paneer to identify it clearly on their menus and retain invoices supporting the product description.
For household consumers, he recommended checking ingredients and product composition rather than making purchasing decisions based solely on price.
He also linked consumer demand for genuine ghee with the value generated through milk procurement and payments to milk-producing families.
Madhusudan highlights gas chromatography testing for ghee
Aggarwal said Madhusudan introduced gas chromatography (GC) testing for ghee around three to four years ago, following a decision by his uncle, Chandra Prakash Agarwal.
He described the equipment as a substantial investment that the company undertook even though it was not then a regulatory requirement for the business.
According to Aggarwal, gas chromatography helps examine the fatty-acid profile of ghee and identify deviations that may indicate the addition of non-milk fats, including vegetable oils or animal body fats.
He said the investment was intended to provide stronger analytical support for the company’s purity claims. He also expressed reservations about relying exclusively on conventional certificate-based testing.
Aggarwal further stated that each batch undergoes as many as 36 quality checks during production before dispatch and that the milk used for Madhusudan ghee comes through the company’s own milk collection network.
SMC Group’s dairy operations and distribution network
Madhusudan is the principal brand of the Saharanpur-based SMC Group, which began operations in 1992.
Aggarwal said the company handles approximately 4.5 million litres of milk per day, sourced from more than 300,000 farmers through a network of around 11,000 village societies and 70 chilling centres.
He identified manufacturing facilities at Nanauta and Khurja, along with a more recent facility at Bareilly.
The brand is distributed across 19 states and reaches more than 200,000 retail outlets, according to Aggarwal.
He attributed the company’s growth to the gradual development of its village-level procurement network, processing infrastructure and distribution operations, while emphasising repeat purchases and consumer confidence in product quality.
Industry urged to combine enforcement with farmer support
Aggarwal’s comments reflect a broader industry discussion about balancing food-safety enforcement, consumer affordability and returns to milk producers during the festive season.
He said the dairy sector had sought action against synthetic milk and products falsely represented as dairy through industry representations and committee-level discussions.
His appeal to FSSAI and state food-safety commissioners was to sustain enforcement while ensuring predictable procedures for businesses.
For dairy processors, he outlined three priorities: avoid unnecessary price increases, strengthen voluntary product testing and share part of the seasonal gains with milk suppliers.
He also encouraged other dairy companies to make similar commitments to farmers publicly.
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