Patanjali Ghee Fined for Quality Test Failure; Company Plans Appeal

A local Uttarakhand court has imposed a fine of Rs 1.40 lakh on Patanjali Ghee and its associates after the product failed mandatory quality checks. The case began when food safety officials collected a sample from a store in Kasni, Pithoragarh, in October 2020. The sample was first analysed at the Rudrapur food testing laboratory and later re-evaluated at FSSAI’s Ghaziabad lab in 2021. Both reports indicated that the product did not meet prescribed quality standards, leading to the court’s action.

In response, Patanjali Ayurved issued a statement challenging the validity of the tests. The company claimed that the referral lab lacked NABL accreditation for cow ghee testing, rendering the results legally unacceptable. It further argued that the parameters used were not applicable at the time and that the retest occurred after the sample’s expiry date. Patanjali added that it is appealing the order, stressing that its ghee has not been deemed unsafe for consumption.

02-12-2025