- Tuesday, September 24, 2024
The famous laddus, offered as prasadam at Sri Venkateswara Swamy temple at Tirumala, is now under spotlight amid allegations regarding its quality
By: Shajil Kumar
THE controversy over the alleged use of substandard ingredients and animal fat in the ghee (clarified butter) used for preparing laddus, the prasadam or religious offering, at Sri Venkateswara Swamy temple in Tirupati refuses to die down.
Last week, Andhra Pradesh chief minister Chandrababu Naidu made the startling claim that during his predecessor tenure the ghee-filled laddu, the prasadam or religious offering made to the deity of Sri Venkateswara at Tirumala, was of poor quality during the previous Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP) regime.
Citing a lab report from Gujarat, Naidu claimed the presence of “beef tallow”, “lard” (relating to pig fat), and fish oil were found in the ghee.
“Even Tirumala laddu was made with substandard ingredients… they used animal fat instead of ghee,” Naidu claimed while addressing an NDA legislature party meeting in Amaravati on September 18.
The report was prepared by the Centre for Livestock and Feed Analysis and Studies (CALF), established by National Dairy Development Board’s (NDDB).
Naidu alleged that several procedures to procure ghee by the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), the trust that runs the temple, were altered under Jagan Mohan Reddy government.
He has now announced the formation of a special investigation team to look into the ghee procurement for Tirupati temple.
Former chief minister Jagan Mohan Reddy, however, refuted the allegation, saying that no violation took place under his government. He accused Naidu of doing “politics in the name of God”. Reddy has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging him to intervene.
Lab report
While the report by CALF did suggest possible adulteration in the ghee, some experts told the News Minute and Wire that the report was inconclusive and it does not definitively prove the presence of animal fat. The analysis mentions a range of ‘foreign fat’ – from soybean, olive, sunflower, rapeseed, and cotton seed, to fish oil, palm oil and beef tallow and lard. Further testing will be required to identify specific fats like beef tallow, they added.
FSSAI notice
In the latest development the country’s food safety regulator, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), on Monday (23) issued a show-cause notice to AR Dairy, one among the five companies which supplied ghee to the Tirupati temple.
Earlier the Tamil Nadu-based dairy said their product samples have been duly cleared by authorities certifying its quality.
The Dindigul-based firm said only during June and July did it supply ghee to the Tirumala temple. Even when it was supplied, it was sent along with duly accredited lab reports.
Volley of petitions
Many petitions have been filed on the issue in the Supreme Court. Former minister and BJP leader Subramanian Swamy sought a court-monitored inquiry into the issue and former Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) Chairman and YSRCP MP Y V Subba Reddy, who has denied the allegations of adulteration, asked for a probe by an independent committee under a retired Supreme Court judge.
The apex body of the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), which met in Tirupati, also appealed to the Supreme Court to take suo motu cognisance of Tirupati laddu adulteration allegations.
Executive officer’s claims
The conduct of Syamala Rao, the executive officer of TTD, has been ambiguous. Initially, he said the batches of ghee found to be adulterated were not used for the preparation of prasadam.
Rao took over as the executive officer of the trust days after the Naidu-led alliance formed the government on June 12. The contaminated ghee was supplied in July.
He said among the five suppliers contracted to provide ghee, only AR Dairy’s product were found to be of inferior quality. Of the 10 tankers supplied by AR Dairy, samples of ghee from four tankers were sent to Gujarat for testing.
However, on Monday (23) the temple underwent “ritualistic sanitation” over sacrilegious practices, including mixing of animal fats in making laddus.
According to a PTI report, the four-hour Shanti Homam Panchagavya Prokshana was carried out from 6 am to 10 am at the temple.
Boost to Nandini milk
In 2023, Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF), producer of Nandini ghee, had opted out of TTD’s ghee supply tender claiming they could not match the lower prices offered by competitors.
The federation, at that time, maintained that they were unwilling to compromise on quality and it also has to serve the interest of farmers.
However, the KMF has now become the exclusive supplier for the Tirupati laddus, with TTD planning to increase its order by nearly ten-folds.
KMF president Bheema Naik claimed the TTD has assured to raise its ghee order from 300 metric tonnes to 3,000 metric tonnes.
Temples tighten norms
The controversy has led to the tightening of food safety norms at temples across states.
The Mankameshwar temple in Uttar Pradesh has now banned offerings of ‘prasad’ bought by devotees from outside and said they can offer homemade ‘prasad’ or fruits.
In Mathura, samples of ‘prasadam’ from 13 prominent temples were taken for testing.
Samajwadi Party MP Dimple Yadav has alleged that shops in Mathura are selling adulterated ‘khoya’ and demanded an inquiry.
Karnataka has mandated the testing of temple prasadam and specified the use of only Nandini ghee for the preparation.
Rajasthan had announced a drive from September 23 to 26 to check the purity of the bhogs and prasadams across temples in the state.
