Fake Paneer is Ruining Everything

First, it was kurkure. Back in the early 2000s, the spicy, crunchy snack caused an existential crisis when a conspiracy theory took hold: if you burned a chip and it melted into black goo, it meant it had plastic. Food scientists quickly disproved the theory — it was just starch. 

Two decades later, a new panic has taken hold. Only this time, it’s about something much more sacred to subcontinental kitchens: paneer. Yes, paneer. The soft, white, protein-rich cheese that shows up in your butter masala, paratha, and momos. Some call it the unwavering king of vegetarian food, with everyone from cricket legend Virat Kohli to your mom loving it. And for many South Asian vegetarians, it’s their favorite (or only) protein source. So when a food safety investigation revealed that 83% of paneer samples in Noida, India had failed food safety tests, people lost it. And rightfully so. In fact, paneer is now considered the most adulterated food item in India.