The SIT, in a remand report, mentioned adulteration involving only chemicals, synthetics and vegetable oils — with no reference to animal-derived substances.
Published Nov 11, 2025 | 2:41 PM ⚊ Updated Nov 11, 2025 | 2:41 PM
Illustration on the controversy over animal fat in Tirupati laddu
Synopsis: More than a year after Chandrababu Naidu claimed that animal fat was used in the making of Tirupati Laddus during the YSRCP tenure, reports continue to affirm that no laboratory test has conclusively confirmed animal fat in the ghee used for the world-famous prasadam. The SIT identified palm oil, palm kernel oil, palmolein, and various chemicals such as beta-carotene, acetic acid esters, and mono- and diglycerides as adulterants used to simulate pure desi ghee.
More than a year after Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu claimed that animal fat was used in the making of Tirupati Laddus during the previous YSRCP government’s tenure, multiple documents and official reports continue to affirm that no laboratory test has conclusively confirmed animal fat, like lard, fish oil, in the ghee used for the world-famous prasadam.
The latest confirmation comes from the Special Investigation Team (SIT), whose remand report filed in the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) Court in Nellore, mentions adulteration involving only chemicals, synthetics and vegetable oils — with no reference to animal-derived substances.
Following Naidu’s September 2024 remarks, which spread rapidly across social media and news outlets, South First published several detailed reports, including findings from the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) Ghee Committee, all of which clarified that adulteration complaints pertained only to vanaspati or plant-based fats, not animal fat like lard or fish oil.
The SIT’s officially filed report further corroborates this, identifying palm oil, palm kernel oil, palmolein, and various chemicals such as beta-carotene, acetic acid esters, and mono- and diglycerides as adulterants used to simulate pure desi ghee.
Notably, no laboratory test — either under the YSRCP or the current NDA-led administration — has ever detected animal fat like lard or fish oil in the ghee samples supplied to TTD.
A carefully redacted version of the SIT findings began circulating since Monday night, on WhatsApp groups that promote the state government, which confirmed the presence of plant-based adulterants, following which a fierce criticism of the previous YSRCP regime for allegedly “allowing adulterated ghee” raged on social media platforms.
Information Technology Minister Nara Lokesh posted on X, claiming the “Supreme Court-appointed SIT has exposed the truth,” and called it “a deliberate assault on the faith of Hindus.” His post triggered a coordinated social media campaign by TDP handles, many of which repeated identical messages implying ghee adulteration without directly mentioning “animal fat.”
The campaign appears aimed more at damaging the image of the YSRCP than establishing factual clarity. If the adulterants are purely plant-based or synthetic/chemical, the core allegation of “animal fat hurting Hindu sentiments” loses all sting.
According to the remand report, Bhole Baba Organic Dairy, promoted by Pomil Jain and Vipin Jain, supplied approximately 68 lakh kg of ghee — valued at ₹250 crore — to the TTD between 2019 and 2024 despite having no record of milk or butter procurement.
The SIT has traced the adulteration network to Delhi-based trader Ajay Kumar Sugandh, arrested on 7 November, who allegedly supplied the chemicals used for adulteration to Harsha Fresh Foods Pvt Ltd and Harsha Trading Company, both linked to the Jain brothers. Sugandh reportedly received ₹7.94 crore for his role.
Despite being blacklisted by the TTD in 2022, Bhole Baba Organic Dairy allegedly continued to route adulterated supplies through proxy firms, including Vyshnavi Dairy Specialities Pvt Ltd (Tirupati), Mal Ganga Milk & Agro Products Pvt Ltd (Uttar Pradesh), and AR Dairy Foods Pvt Ltd (Tamil Nadu).
According to sources, the remand report filed with the Nellore ACB Court pointed to four tankers of ghee that were initially rejected by TTD in July 2024 for adulteration but were later rerouted and relabelled before being re-supplied in August 2024 under falsified documentation.
This point raises questions about oversight within TTD’s procurement process under the present TDP-led NDA government, as the new dispensation assumed office in June 2024.
Immediately after the chief minister made the sensational allegation that ghee with animal fat was being used in making laddus in September last year, a senior TTD official involved in ghee testing reaffirmed to South First: “Animal fat has never been found in the preparation of Sri Vari Laddu in the history of the Tirumala Tirupati Temple. The chief minister’s remarks were surprising and factually incorrect.”
The TTD requires 15 tonnes of cow ghee daily, procured via e-tenders every six months. Each consignment undergoes wet chemistry testing in its in-house lab and is accepted only if it passes quality checks. Substandard batches are rejected, and the suppliers are blacklisted.
The TTD Ghee Committee, constituted in 2024, reviewed procurement and testing protocols. While acknowledging occasional adulteration with plant-based fats like vanaspati, the committee found no instance of animal fat contamination.
“Ghee, being an expensive edible fat, is often suspected of adulteration with cheaper oils or fats. Hence, objective testing is mandatory to confirm genuineness,” the report said, recommending stricter laboratory standards and FSSAI-approved methods like beta-sitosterol detection (RP-HPLC) and fatty acid profiling (GC-FID).
Over the past decade, across both TDP (2014–2019) and YSRCP (2019–2024) tenures, TTD has blacklisted three suppliers from Haryana, Gujarat, and Tamil Nadu for using plant-based adulterants — but never for animal fat.
In the immediate aftermath of the controversy, a single-page, undated note circulating online claimed that “fish oil” and “beef tallow” were found in ghee samples. However, South First found the document to be unverified and unattributed, with no indication that it pertained to Tirupati Laddus in the first place.
TTD officials dismissed it as “fabricated,” confirming that no official lab report — by TTD or the state’s food safety department — has ever contained such findings.
Both the SIT’s remand report and TTD’s official documentation reinforce what South First has consistently reported: No evidence of animal fat has ever been found in the ghee used for Tirupati Laddus.
All confirmed adulteration cases involved plant-based vanaspati or oils, and now, chemicals and synthetic adulterants. No new SIT evidence suggests otherwise.
In short, while adulteration with cheaper oils remains a regulatory concern, the core allegation of animal fat, such as lard and fish oil, in the sacred Laddu ghee stands unsubstantiated to this day.
(Edited by Muhammed Fazil.)
