In another first, TTD has introduced a ghee testing system to ensure purity at the ingredients level for the famed Tirupati laddu prasadam. This initiative by Executive Officer Shamala Rao addresses concerns of adulteration and will blacklist suppliers who provide impure products.
In response to allegations about adulterated ghee in the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu declared that a Special Investigation Team will study the matter. Naidu claimed that the previous YSRCP government had altered the process for obtaining ghee, opening the door for unethical behaviour. YSRC was also charged by Naidu with “choosing board members without any trust in them and even by hiring non-Hindus.”
Naidu, talking to the media from his Undavalli residence, marked on issues relating to ghee quality used for the popular laddu prasadam in Tirumala, which was said to have previously used animal fat.
“The SIT, headed by an IG-level officer or above, will scrutinize the facts of misuse of power and submit a report. The government will take stern action to prevent such incidents from recurring,” Naidu said while announcing that sentiments of people must be safeguarded.
Naidu also announced a ritualistic purification ceremony, Santhi Homam Panchagavya Prokshana, to be performed on Monday at the Srivari temple as part of relief measures against the alleged desecration.
Attacking YSRCP, he said that the standards of ghee procurement were brought down. The experience of three years with the supplier was reduced to only one year and minimum turnover was brought down from ₹250 crore to ₹150 crore.
Naidu said how pure ghee would be supplied at a cost lower than palm oil. Besides, AR Dairy Foods Pvt Ltd began supplying ghee from June 2024.
The charges gathered speed with the surfacing of a letter written by YSRCP chief Jagan Mohan Reddy to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which Naidu branded as a counterattack at the controversy that has been ongoing all these days.
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Executive Officer of TTD J Shyamala Rao confirmed on September 20 that lab tests had detected the presence of animal fat and lard in some ghee samples selected for testing. TTD is blacklisting the contractor who supplied the adulterated ghee now.
Shamala Rao, Executive Officer of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD), announced that over the past three months for the first time in the temple’s history, a system to test the ghee for adulteration was introduced in response to questions about the quality of ghee used in Tirupati’s famous laddu prasadam.
So far, TTD never had an instance where ghee samples were tested for adulteration in external labs since it did not have its in-house facility to do the same earlier. However, it is the new initiative which will ensure pure ingredients are used in the preparation of prasadam. “We will continue to test the ghee, and if any supplier is found providing adulterated products, he will be blacklisted, and legal action will be taken,” Rao said.
He also said that TTD is set to establish an in-house laboratory to boost quality control measures.
