Hyderabad: Two days after Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu’s sensational revelation that ghee adulterated with animal fat was used in making the Tirupati laddu, the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) has confirmed the presence of lard and beef tallow, among other adulterants, in samples tested at a lab of the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB).
The TTD manages the famous Sri Venkateswara Swamy temple, where the famed laddus are offered as a divine blessing to millions of devotees, including visiting dignitaries such as the president, prime minister and Supreme Court judges.
However, the ghee samples tested at the Centre for Analysis and Learning in Livestock and Food (NDDB-CALF), TTD officials said, had been collected at Tirumala on 6 July and 12 July, about a month after Naidu assumed the CM’s chair mid-June, as pointed out by former CM and YSRCP chief Jagan Mohan Reddy.
“It has been about two months since the (test) reports came in. Why was Naidu mum on the matter all this while? These (animal fat in Tirupati laddu) charges are nothing but Chandrababu’s ugly, diversion politics to curtain his failures and distract the betrayed public,” Jagan said at a press conference Friday, while attacking the TDP leader “over the unfulfilled status of his Super Six etc., poll promises in the government’s first 100 days”.
Speaking at the NDA legislators’ meeting at Amaravati Wednesday on the occasion of completing 100 days in power, Naidu had claimed that a main ingredient used in the laddu-making, cow ghee, was adulterated with animal fat during the previous Jagan regime.
“They (YSRCP regime) have damaged the sanctity of the Lord and the temple, behaving recklessly. Laddus offered to the Lord were made with inferior ingredients and most painfully animal fat was used in place of pure ghee,” Naidu said at the meeting.
Nara Lokesh, Naidu’s son and a state cabinet minister, shared a video of the CM’s remarks on X. “I am shocked to learn that the Jagan administration used animal fat instead of ghee in the Tirupati prasadam. Shame on Jagan and the YSRCP government that couldn’t respect the religious sentiments of crores of devotees,” he wrote.
Responding to the accusations, Jagan at the press conference at YSRCP’s central office in Tadepalli said that Naidu, being in a responsible position, was talking atrociously, tarnishing the image of the vast and able TTD machinery, and the state, while also hurting devotee sentiments.
“The ingredient procurement process has been the same for decades. Every ghee tanker comes with a NABL lab (national accreditation board) certificate. TTD officials take samples and the material is allowed inside only after it passes the tests,” Jagan said.
The YSRCP chief said that while during the previous Naidu regime (2014-2019), the supply was rejected 14-15 times, it was 18 times during Jagan’s tenure (2019-2024).
Stating Naidu’s “untrue allegations as an affront to Lord Venkateswara and the hallowed temple”, Jagan said that he would write to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Chief Justice of India “on religious sentiments being exploited for political gain”.
Jagan further alleged that “none of the alliance’s promises during the election like cash incentives for children, women, and farmers have been kept”.
The much sought-after Tirupati laddu holds a Geographical Indication (GI) tag. About 3.5 lakh laddus are made every day, each regular size one weighing 170 grams and costing Rs 50.
The Tirupati temple earns over Rs 5,100 crore annual revenue. After donations, and interest accrued on its massive bank deposits, earnings from laddu sales come third at Rs 550 crore, according to the TTD’s revised budget estimates for 2023-24.
“Devotees like me are extremely worried to learn that the quality of laddu offered to the almighty was compromised. We appeal to the government to probe the allegations thoroughly and bring the culprits to book,” Abdul Ghani, a Muslim businessman from Chennai and an ardent follower of Lord Venkateswara who often visits the temple with his family and bestows big donations and gifts, told ThePrint.
Also Read: Naidu’s ‘animal fat’ in Tirupati laddu claim sets off political row, YSRCP denies allegation
TTD identifies ghee supplier, dairy manager rejects adulteration charge
Amid the huge uproar nationally over the laddu prasadam contamination charges, Syamala Rao, TTD executive officer, Friday identified Dindigul, Tamil Nadu-based AR Dairy as the agency which had supplied the adulterated ghee.
The TTD board is headed by a chairperson, a political appointee, and a senior IAS officer is deputed as executive officer to head the administrative affairs of the huge institution.
While the chairperson’s post has been vacant since YSRCP leader Bhumana Karunakar Reddy resigned following the party’s defeat in the first week of June, Rao was appointed executive officer by Naidu in mid-June, three days after assuming office.
In a press conference held Friday at Annamayya Bhavan in Tirumala, Rao said that “for the first time ever, TTD sent samples of ghee supplies to an outside lab (NDDB-CALF) for adulteration testing”. This, he said, was done because the quality of ghee that arrived on 6 July and 12 July, two tankers each time, looked awful.
The IAS officer said it was following CM Naidu’s directive “to ensure utmost quality and taste of laddu prasadam using pure cow ghee as it involves the sentiments of millions and millions of devotees across the globe”.
“Following this, and after receiving feedback from pilgrims over the poor quality of laddus in the last few years and interacting with the Potu (consecrated kitchen) laddu-makers, for the first time TTD sent ghee supplies to an outside lab for testing the quality and content of ingredients,” Rao told reporters.
The same NDDB-CALF test report had been made public a day before (Thursday) by TDP leader Anam Venkata Ramana Reddy, in a press conference at Nellore. This was questioned by YSRCP leaders.
TTD officials said that ghee supply agencies are normally engaged for six months based on the lowest priced tenders and their contracts are either extended or cancelled based on further bids, quality and quantity of supplies.
According to Rao, before the TDP came to power, five ghee suppliers—Premier Agri Foods, Kriparam Diary, Vaishnavi, Sri Parag Milk and AR Dairy—had been selected by the TTD with procurement rates ranging between Rs 320 and Rs 411 per kilogram.
BJP and TDP leaders have alleged that some agencies were favoured instead of the Karnataka Milk Federation supplying ghee earlier, in expectation of commissions.
“Considering the market price, these rates are not viable for agencies to supply pure ghee. Taking note of laddu quality concerns, we had warned all suppliers to ensure good quality ghee or else samples will be tested at outside labs for adulteration and that agencies found to be violative of terms will be blacklisted,” Rao said.
However, even after cautioning, four ghee tankers sent by AR Dairy were prima facie found to be of substandard quality, stated the EO, citing reports “from the reputed NDDB-CALF at Anand, Gujarat”. The EO said they are blacklisting the agency. “We will also penalise and move legally against the firm,” he added.
“S-value analysis showed the samples fell outside the standard limits, suggesting the presence of foreign fats such as soybean, sunflower, palm kernel fat or even lard and beef tallow. The acceptable S-value range for pure milk fat is between 98.05 and 104.32, but the tested sample showed values ranging from 23.22 to 116, reflecting significant deviations. The sample also indicated the presence of vegetable oil contamination,” Rao told the media.
When contacted by ThePrint, a senior manager of AR Dairy Food Private Limited refuted the charges, saying that “only pure, high-quality ghee was supplied for Tirupati laddu-making”.
“We supplied ghee for only two months—June and July, not before or after. There cannot be any animal fat in our ghee,” the AR Dairy official said.
Rao claimed that some suppliers were taking advantage of TTD lacking an in-house lab to monitor laddu or other prasadam ingredients’ quality.
“NDDB has offered to donate a ghee adulteration testing equipment costing Rs 75 lakh. This could be set up by December or January to serve as a permanent solution to the problem,” Rao said.
Meanwhile, Union health minister J.P. Nadda, told reporters in New Delhi that they have asked the Andhra Pradesh government to send a report on the alleged animal fat in laddu ghee.
Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi also reacted to the Tirupati laddu controversy, among many other politicians and ministers.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)