Claims of animal fat being used in Tirupati laddus is a matter of concern to millions of devotees. While lab reports point to adulteration, Executive Officer of TTD has categorically identified the adulterant as Vanaspati. Was this adulterated ghee used in making the laddus is the crucial question.
Published Sep 20, 2024 | 2:15 PM ⚊ Updated Sep 20, 2024 | 2:15 PM
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It is radio silence from Tirupati Tirumala Devastanams (TTD) officials ever since Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu claimed animal fat was used in preparing Sri Vari Laddus aka Tirupati laddu.
Even as Naidu’s claims have sparked off loud debates on TV channels and polarised opinions on social media with little or no regard to facts of the matter, the Andhra Pradesh government has several crucial questions to answer.
Chandrababu Naidu’s claims directly impact the faith of millions of devotees of Lord Balaji. Sentiments of Hindus seem to have been lost amid the political slugfest between TDP and YSRCP over claims of animal fat in Tirumala laddus.
On 24 July this year, Executive Officer (EO) of TTD, Shyamala Rao, held a press conference where he said ghee consignment sent to Tirupati by one of the suppliers was found adulterated with vegetable fat. Rao was appointed as EO of TTD by the Chandrababu Naidu government after it assumed power in June this year.
Rao reiterated that the ghee was adulterated with ‘vanaspati’ aka vegetable fat and was detected by sample testing by NABL. “We found adulteration in the sample. The adulteration was with vegetable fats, which means, vanaspati. We issued a show cause notice to the supplier on blacklisting and rejected two tankers of ghee that they supplied after they failed quality tests,” Rao said.
The blacklisted firm in question was AR Diary based in Dindugal of Tamil Nadu.
AR Dairy has participated in TTD’s tender for ghee supply for the first time in November 2023. The Tamil Nadu-based dairy won the tender conducted through a reverse auction process where the lowest bidder is chosen as the supplier.
Sources in TTD tell South First that the process of awarding the tender took three months and supply began only months after the tender was issued. TTD calls for Ghee supply tenders in four different processes for six months.
AR Dairy was subsequently added to the list of suppliers to TTD earlier this year. Samples of ghee from AR Dairy too, as procedure mandates, were sent for testing along with samples from all suppliers.
In June, there was a change of government in Andhra Pradesh. While the tender was won by AR Dairy under the Jagan Mohan Reddy regime, the sample for testing was sent to laboratories on 9 July— under TDP-JSP-BJP regime.
The date of sample submission is mentioned as ‘9 July 2024’ in a report that was leaked to the media after Naidu’s claims kicked up a storm on Thursday. Another report with sample submission date cited as 17 July 2024 is also doing the rounds on social media. Both viral reports are from the NDDB CALF lab. AR Dairy has since been blacklisted by TTD.
The Ghee Committee report, accessed by South First, submitted in September first week, categorically mentions that the shelf life of ghee is seven days. If the sample was sent for testing on 9 July or 17 July, the consignment, logic suggests, should have arrived a few days prior.
While the lab results show adulteration, but as pointed out by EO in his press conference, the adulteration is through palm oil/vegetable fats.
On the basis of what evidence, CM Naidu made claims of animal fats is unclear. While he clearly said ‘animal fat’ on Wednesday, 18 September, by Thursday, 19 September, he refused to reiterate the charge and simply said, “The report has shown impurities and poor quality ghee was sent to TTD. If we get any evidence of wrongdoings, we will take action on people involved.” A big step down from his massive charge.
Several experts, who have seen the viral lab report showing (Beta) β-Sitosterol values being higher than specified values, attest that it shows the presence of palm oil or vegetable fat, not animal fat.
At best, the report confirms that the ghee is adulterated but doesn’t indicate the presence of animal fat. Several media houses have been using an Annexure of the report that points to ‘suspected adulterants as per ISO 17678: 2019, to claim animal fat was indeed ‘used in preparing Tirupati laddus.
The claims are being made even as neither the TTD nor the Andhra Pradesh government has clarified whether this sample was only tested and rejected or also accepted and used in the preparation of Sri Vari Laddus.
Incidentally, every consignment of ghee to TTD is tested before it is accepted. Over a period of just one year, some 20 to 25 tankers of ghee from suppliers have been rejected and sent back by TTD for not matching up to quality standards.
Testing of samples and rejection of consignments is a routine practice at TTD when supply has been found to be sub-par.
The real question is whether this particular consignment was accepted and used to prepare the laddus. Meanwhile, Kandarapu Murali, Honorary President of TTD Employees and Workers’ Unions has been quoted as criticising Naidu’s claims of animal fat in Tirupati laddus.
In a statement, Murali is said to have pointed to the transparent procedures that are followed at TTD, and the lab within TTD to inspect the ingredients used in any prasadam preparation.
“Only after inspections are conducted in this lab, are the ingredients used. Food materials are inspected under the purview of the Central Food Technology Research Institute (CFTRI, Mysuru), which operates under the supervision of the central government. This inspection is conducted under the supervision of a retired scientist and 12 expert employees. Every day, a team from TTD supervises the inspection and only after certification, are the ingredients for prasadam accepted, he added.,” he is quoted as saying.
A closer look at the viral lab report shows you the gaps in testing procedures. Several media houses claimed the use of animal fat based on the viral lab report listing Soya bean, Sunflower, Olive, rapeseed, linseed, wheat germ, maize germ, coconut and palm kernel fat, palm oil and beef tallow, lard etc as S-Value for “suspected adulterants”.
Supposed Annexure I of NDDB lab report on ‘Ghee’ sample sent to TTD in July second week shows grounds for false positives.
A detailed 2021 study by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research on calculating Cow and buffalo ghee as per equations specified by ISO 17678: 2019, however, shows that the difference in S-Values is because of varied cow species and feeds. The study also insists on a relook at the standard specified for cow ghee in India.
The viral lab report also comes with a warning on how a false positive could be obtained.
All of the above questions aside, even if one were to assume that the NDDB report proves the use of animal fat in preparing the laddus, the big question before TTD and Andhra Pradesh government led by Chandrababu Naidu is—why the silence for over two months?
If the allegation is true, it is a grossly serious offence that hurts the sentiments of millions of Hindus. Why did the TDP-JDP-BJP government and TTD not initiate any action since July?
