Centre steps in as row over Tirupati laddus explodes

Controversy erupts over Tirumala laddus containing alleged animal fats; Andhra CM blames predecessor, prompting federal investigation and public outrage.

A simmering controversy over raw materials used in the laddu given as “prasadam” to devotees at the Tirumala-Tirupati temple exploded on Friday as the Centre stepped in to demand a report on the ingredients and the Andhra Pradesh government trained its guns on the previous administration over the sensitive religious issue.

The AR Dairy Foods in Dindigul, (Taminl Nadu) that had supplied ghee for Laddu Prasadam at Tirupati, which is now at the centre of a controversy. (ANI)

Union health minister JP Nadda said he spoke to Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu and sought a report on allegations that a lab examination of the laddus at a lab at the National Dairy Development Board’s CALF lab in Anand, Gujarat,found “beef tallow”, “lard” and “fish oil”. The sample receipt date was July 9 and the lab report was dated July 16 – both dates coming after Naidu had taken charge as CM.

“I got to know about the issue through social media. I spoke to Chandrababu Naidu today and asked him to share the available report so that we can examine it. I will also speak to the state regulators and take their views. The report will be examined and suitable action taken within the legal framework and regulations under the FSSAI,” Nadda said.

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is a statutory body under the Union ministry of health and family welfare.

Union food minister Pralhad Joshi also called for an investigation into the allegations, which has sparked concern among a section of devotees.

“Whatever the Andhra chief minister has said is a matter of serious concern. A detailed inquiry is required and the culprit should be punished,” Joshi told reporters on the sidelines of a global food regulators’ summit in Delhi.

A third Union minister, Giriraj Singh, called for capital punishment in the case. “I would like to say two things about the incident of mixing animal fat in the Tirupati laddu that has come to light. First, it involves ₹20,000 crore, and it should be investigated by CBI. Secondly, this is a grave injustice to the Hindu community. Whoever is responsible should not just be punished for adulteration, but should be hanged,” Singh told news agency ANI.

The controversy began on Wednesday when Naidu alleged that his predecessor, Jagan Mohan Reddy, allowed the use of substandard ingredients and animal fat in the laddus, considered holy by millions of devotees at the Tirumala Temple. Then on Thursday, the Telugu Desam Party released a lab report, run by the NDDB in Anand, that purportedly confirmed the presence of animal fat in the ghee samples sent by the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams, which manages the famous Sri Venkateswara Swamy temple.

On Friday, TTD executive officer J Shyamala Rao said lab tests revealed the presence of animal fat and lard in chosen samples and the board was in the process of blacklisting the contractor who supplied “adulterated” ghee. TTD blacklisted AR Dairy, which allegedly supplied the ghee, and initiated legal proceedings, Rao added.

“We have immediately stopped taking delivery of cow ghee from AR Dairy. We are taking steps to ensure the sanctity of the temple and the offering is maintained and the religious sentiments of Hindus are not hurt,” he said.

‘Cheaper ghee purchased’Naidu kept up his attack on Reddy. Addressing a public meeting in Prakasam district, Naidu alleged the previous regime bought inferior quality ghee at cheaper prices, affecting the quality of laddu and damaging the sacred shrine.

“Today we have changed the ghee supplier. We started purchasing Nandini brand ghee from Karnataka. People are saying their sentiments were hurt. When sentiments were hurt, should I spare them when unpardonable mistakes were committed?” Naidu asked.

But Reddy dismissed the allegations, saying they were a diversionary tactic. “Ultimately, at the end of the day, I myself am writing a letter to the Prime Minister. I am also writing a letter to the Chief Justice of India. I am explaining to them as to how Chandrababu Naidu twisted the facts and why action should be taken against him for having done so,” the YSR Congress Party chief told reporters.

At the centre of the battle is India’s richest temple, which gets 90,000 visitors a day and is considered among the most important shrines of Hinduism. The presiding deity, Sri Venkateswara, along with his consort Padmavathi are believed to have manifested in Tirumala, a seven-hill range in the Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh.

Its iconic prasad is the laddu, of which nearly 10 million pieces get sold a month. LV Subrahmanyam, a former executive officer of TTD, said that the laddu had a history of 500 years. Boondi (small drop like hollow savouries), jaggery syrup, almonds, cashew nuts, raisins and others lend the distinct flavour, aroma and taste to the laddu.According to the temple’s annual report on its website, it earns ₹500 crore as revenue from the yearly sale of laddus.

But procuring dairy for the raw materials has always been a challenge, forcing governments to often turn to the lowest bidder.

Between 2013 and 2018, according to the Karnataka Milk Federation – which owns the iconic brand Nandini – supplied nearly 4,000 tonne ghee. In 2019, 2,000 tonne ghee was sold to TTD. Subsequently, the cooperative lost the bids to private players whose prices were far lower than Nandini’s and in 2023, KMF refused to participate in the tender process citing their inability to supply ghee at unviable prices.

“About one year ago they (TTD) called for a tender and asked us to participate in the tender. We cannot give ghee at the competitive rate, because in the e-procurement tender, whoever quotes the lowest rate will get it,” said Bheema Naik, chairman of KMF.

However, on the insistence of Naidu, KMF restored ghee supplies when the new government was formed in June.

AR Dairy, headquartered in Tamil Nadu’s Dindigul, was among the five firms that were shortlisted to supply ghee. The other firms that supplied ghee include Premier Agro Products Private Limited, Kirpa Ram Dairy Private Limited, Vaishnavi Dairy and Sweets, and Parag Milk Foods (Parag Ghee), TTD officials said.

As against a base price of ₹418 per litre of cow ghee, AR Dairy agreed to supply ghee at ₹320 per litre, said the officials quoted above.

Firm disputes reportThe samples tested at the lab in Anand came from AR Dairy, announced TTD. AR Dairy said when ghee was supplied to the Tirupati temple, it was sent along with duly accredited lab reports.”There has been no deviations at all…Our ghee is not being sent now to Tirupati temple. We don’t send,” a spokesperson said.

Rao of TTD said analysis of the sample by the Anand lab suggested 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. “These samples also indicated the presence of vegetable oil contamination,” Rao added.

During the press conference, Rao admitted that ghee had never been sent for laboratory testing “in the history of the temple”, adding that he sent the samples for testing upon chief minister Naidu’s insistence.

Rao said an internal lab would be set up for periodic testing of ingredients. “We are looking to set up a lab akin to the tea-testing laboratories in Guwahati where tea dust is tested for aroma, weight, and colour.”

NDDB has placed an order for large-scale testing equipment from an overseas vendor costing ₹75 lakh. This machine will be placed in the kitchen premises at Tirumala for testing ghee exclusively.

Mysore-based Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI) has agreed to train TTD officials in food safety standards and certification.

The TDP pointed to Reddy’s uncle YV Subba Reddy, a Christian, who was one of the chairmans of TTD between 2021 and 2023.

After public outcry 2023, he was replaced by Karunakar Reddy, who was also alleged to be a practising Christian. Reddy resigned after the YSRCP lost the state elections earlier this year. YSRCP countered the allegations of Reddy’s Christian leanings saying the opposition was unnecessarily raking up a non-issue and that the chairman was answerable only to the people of his constituency in Tirupati.

Deputy chief minister Pawan Kalyan, founder of the Jana Sena Party, said he was deeply disturbed by the incident. He called for the formation of a “Sanatana Dharma Rakshana Board” at a national level to look into all the issues related to temples in the entire country.