Ludhiana food safety raid on supplement store: empty imported wrappers and whey seized (Jul 2026)

Ludhiana, with its dense gym market, has had a run of food safety actions on supplement shops in 2026. On Thursday 31 Jul 2026 the health department's food safety team raided a health-supplement store on Tibba Road and seized about 75 kg of empty imported wrappers for nutritional supplements, about 100 kg of supplements and 36 boxes of artificial flavouring agents. Four samples were sent to the State Food Laboratory: a weight gainer, a product labelled Isopure Whey Protein, a whey protein and an Ultra Pure Whey Formula.

The Tribune's report is careful about what was found. The empty wrappers raised concern about repackaging, misbranding and illegal marketing of supplements, but no product had been confirmed counterfeit at the time of seizure. The action was taken under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, and officers pointed to the requirement that food businesses buy only from licensed sources and keep labelling and traceability records.

This followed a district drive in May 2026 in which the same team seized 18 units of a pre-workout product and 21 units of an 'anabolic liver support' supplement and sampled a muscle mass gainer along with ghee, gram flour and vanaspati at Gill Road, Machhiwara and Samrala. Lab results from either action have not been made public.

The store is not named here and no brand is implicated. If the lab confirms that the whey did not match its label, the state can prosecute for misbranding or unsafe food.