No adulterated ghee was used to make Tirupati Laddu as TTD returned tankers from Tamil Naidu Dairy

Hyderabad: As the debate over cow ghee contaminated with animal fat continues to simmer, the 40-page report submitted to the government by TTD Managing Director J. Syamala Rao has been seen by DHsaid the suspected ghee from the Tamil Nadu dairy was never used to make Tirupati Laddu Prasadam.

“As per the report of NDDB, all the samples were found to contain vegetable and animal fat adulteration including lard. In view of this, the tankers of adulterated cow ghee supplied by the dairy were returned and further supplies from them were stopped. Further, notices for reply were served on M/s AR Dairy Pvt Ltd, Dindigul on 22.07.2024, 23.07.2024 and 27.07.2024,” said the report submitted by TTD EO to the government.

Interestingly, the EO report also stated that four samples from the ghee tanks supplied by AR Dairy were sent “confidentially” to the NDDB Lab in Anand (Gujarat) to test their quality as per FSSAI specifications.

Syamala Rao submitted a preliminary report on the Tirupati Laddu incident to Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Sunday. After it came to light that cow ghee adulterated with animal fat was used to make the holy Tirupati Laddu, Naidu had sought a report from TTD EO. Naidu had also announced on Sunday that an SIT headed by an IG officer would probe the adulteration of cow ghee in Tirumala and other irregularities.

The report also details the procurement process of cow ghee by TTD for making the famous Tirupati Laddu.

According to the report, Agmark Special Grade cow ghee is procured half-yearly through tankers through e-tender as per TTD specifications approved by the TTD Board and is used for use in preparation of laddu and other prasadams in the temples of Tirumala and Tiruchanoor.

The consumption is around 15,000 kg per day and the value of manufacturing laddus will be around Rs 200 Crs per annum. In the tender specification, the quality parameters are as per TTD and FSSAI standards.

No adulteration tests have been carried out so far

Although it is expressly stated that the standards must be adhered to, due to the lack of the necessary testing equipment such as GC and HPLC in the TTD laboratory, certain tests to detect adulterants such as p-sitosterol and FAME are not performed.

No trained sensory analysis panel with proper facilities for testing was present. No evaluation was done as the tender does not specify which value of hedonic scale is acceptable for TTD. The cow ghee supplied by tankers was tested on basic parameters like moisture, butyro-refracture reading, free fatty acid, RM value, Baudouin test, mineral oil test, color additive test, melting point and rancidity test.

In case of deviations from the specified parameters, the tankers will be rejected. The other tests specified in the tender will not be carried out because the TTD laboratory does not have the necessary equipment.

14 samples rejected since 2022

A total of 14 samples have been tested since 2022 and rejected as adulterated based on other parameters. Although as per the tender conditions, the facility of an external NABL accredited laboratory for adulteration testing could have been used, this was never done.

“Given the above reasons like poor quality control i.e. lack of testing equipment to detect adulteration and failure to send samples to external labs for testing, suppliers have taken advantage and started offering very low, unprofitable prices ranging between Rs 320 and Rs 411.10 per kg. It is common knowledge that no one can supply pure ghee at these prices. It has also been observed that reverse tendering has also pushed down the prices to unprofitable levels and eliminated good suppliers,” the report said.

The suppliers were supplying poor quality ghee which lacked aroma and flavour and was possibly adulterated. TTD has asked all existing suppliers to improve the quality of ghee supplied and warned that substandard stocks would be tested for adulteration in external labs and the company would be blacklisted and penalised accordingly if tests indicated adulteration. Taking into account TTD’s warning, all the companies improved the quality of their ghee except one supplier – M/s AR Dairy Foods Pvt Ltd, Tamil Nadu.

Tenders for AR Dairy will be completed in May

“AR Dairy Food Pvt Ltd was selected for 10,000,000 kgs of cow ghee through e-tender dated 12.03.2024 which was closed through reverse tender on 08.05.2024 for Rs.319.80 lakhs. He started supply from 12 June 2024. However, on physical verification, his 2 tankers dated 06.07.2024 and 2 tankers dated 15.07.2024 were found to be of poor quality and on testing aroma and taste, it was suspected to be adulterated ghee. Accordingly, 4 samples were confidentially sent to NDDB Laboratory, Anand, Gujarat for quality testing as per FSSAI specifications.

The reports were received on 16.07.2024 and 23.07.2024. 14. As per the report of NDDB, all the samples are found to contain vegetable and animal fat based adulterants including lard. Due to the above circumstances, the tankers containing the adulterated cow ghee supplied by the dairy have been returned, further supplies have been stopped and a request for comment has been issued,” the senior official added in the report.

On 22nd, 23rd and 27th July, M/s AR Diary Pvt Ltd was issued notice of representations as to why appropriate steps should not be taken to blacklist the company and declare due forfeiture of EMD and SD amounts along with penalty of 5%.

The dairy responded on July 28. On August 8, TTD sent another response rejecting the company’s objections. “The response they submitted is currently under review,” the report said.