A Southall-based food importer and its senior officers have been fined after hundreds of litres of banned ghee were found at the company’s premises.

Uxbridge Magistrates’ Court heard on 20 January 2026 that Swadi Products UK Limited, trading as Swadi Products and based on Endsleigh Road, had been selling ghee — a clarified butter — that had been produced in India. Dairy products manufactured in India are banned from entering the UK.

The company, along with its director Amrik Panesar, of Watford Road, Harrow, and company secretary Preeti Panesar, of St Johns Road, Slough, pleaded guilty to a number of offences.

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These included importing animal products into England without using a designated border control post, failing to provide information requested by enforcement officers, and failing to identify the suppliers and customers of the banned ghee.

The court ordered the company and both individuals to pay fines, costs and victim surcharges totalling more than £20,000. Mr and Mrs Panesar now each have a criminal record.

Swadi Products UK Limited was fined £4,000 and ordered to pay £1,694 in legal costs and a £1,600 victim surcharge, bringing the total to £7,294. Mr Panesar received the same penalties, also totalling £7,294. Mrs Panesar was fined £2,666 and ordered to pay £1,694 in legal costs and a £1,066 victim surcharge, amounting to £5,426.

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Ealing Council officers inspected the premises in March 2025 following a referral from the Food Standards Agency. During the visit, officers discovered 444 tins of Amul-branded ghee labelled "for sale in India".

All dairy products made in India are prohibited from entering the UK and EU because India does not have an approved milk residue monitoring plan for exports to the UK.

The company initially claimed the ghee had been purchased from another business. Officers were later given a handwritten invoice naming the supplier as "Soni and Sons Leicester". However, checks with Leicester City Council and Companies House found no evidence that such a business had ever existed. Swadi Products failed to identify the true supplier, which constitutes an offence.

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The company also denied selling the ghee to other businesses. However, on 26 March 2025, officers found 11 tins of Amul ghee on sale at Western Cash and Carry in Southall. An invoice dated 9 February showed Swadi Products as the supplier. The company failed to provide this invoice when requested by authorised officers, which is also an offence.

All banned ghee seized from Swadi Products was removed by council officers and later destroyed.

Councillor Kamaljit Nagpal, Ealing Council’s cabinet member for decent living incomes, said:

"All food businesses must follow the law to protect public health. These rules exist for good reasons, and flagrantly ignoring them is unacceptable."

"We will always take the strongest possible action against any businesses in the borough that break these rules."