The Haryana Government, Food and Drugs Administration Department, on August 17, 2026, issued an order prohibiting the manufacture, preparation, processing, packing, storage, distribution, sale, advertising or offering for sale of any product described or marketed as “Ghee”, including products using prefixes, suffixes or qualifying expressions such as “Ghee for Pooja”, “Ghee for Diya”, “Vanaspati Ghee”, “Cooking Ghee” and “Ghee for Havan”, unless the product fully conforms to the prescribed standard for Ghee under Regulation 2.1.8 of the Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Regulations, 2011. The prohibition applies throughout Haryana for one year from publication in the Official Gazette.
The Order also prohibits the sale or representation of margarine, plant-fat spreads, vegetable-oil-based spreads and other non-dairy fat products as “Butter” or “Makkhan”, whether packed or loose. Such products must be visibly and separately labelled as “Margarine” or “Vegetable Fat Spread — Not Butter/Not Makkhan”, as applicable.
Additionally, FBOs selling pre-packaged sweets, including ladoo and Ghewar, must prominently declare the medium of preparation as “Prepared in Desi Ghee” or “Prepared in Vegetable Fat/Vegetable Oil”, as applicable, on at least two sides of the package, occupying at least 25% of the respective side. Products containing permitted artificial sweeteners must also carry the declaration “Made with Artificial Sweetener(s)” along with the names of the sweeteners used. Contraventions may attract penalties under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, including seizure and destruction of the offending articles.
[Notification No. 3/14-3Food-II-2026/6027]
