Andhra Pradesh News Desk !!! The matter of laddu prasad in Tirupati Balaji temple of Andhra Pradesh is in the headlines. It is said that cow fat and fish oil are mixed in the laddu. Amidst this controversy, Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) Board has also given clarification from its side. The executive officer of the temple has said that the quality of the prasad will not be compromised. Making a big change in the system, the TTD board has said that soon the things supplied to the temple will be checked. A lab will be set up at a cost of Rs 75 lakh to check the supply in the temple premises itself.
There is no compromise on the quality of Ghee
To ensure the purity of the laddu prasadam offered to Venkateswara Swamy, TTD EO J Shyamala Rao said that there will be no compromise on the quality of ghee used to make the laddus. Millions of pilgrims from across the world visit the Tirumala temple with utmost devotion to have darshan of Sri Venkateswara Swamy. We need to protect the purity and divinity of Tirumala Divya Kshetram and laddu prasadam.
External laboratory testing of Ghee
Addressing media persons at the meeting room of Annamayya Bhavan in Tirumala on Friday, the EO said- Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu has clearly stated that using pure cow ghee will ensure the quality and taste of laddu prasadam and there is a need to restore purity. It contains the sentiments of crores of devotees from all over the world. After this, since the new TTD administration took charge, we have started focusing on improving the quality and taste of laddus. After receiving feedback from pilgrims on the poor quality of laddus and interacting with pottu workers (laddu makers) for the first time in the last few years, TTD has sent the ghee supply to an external laboratory for adulteration testing.
This was the whole process of buying ghee
TTD had 5 suppliers of ghee. Its prices ranged between Rs 320 and Rs 411. The names are – Premier Agri Foods, Kriparam Dairy, Vaishnavi, Sri Parag Milk and A.R. Dairy. According to the administration, these rates are not practical for the supply of pure ghee. The administration has warned everyone to ensure good quality ghee. Along with this, adulterated samples will be sent to external laboratories and if found positive, they will be blacklisted.
This is how adulteration is detected
Even after the warning, 4 Ghee tankers sent by A.R. Foods were found to be of poor quality. The S-value analysis done on the sample sent to the reputed N.D.D.B.C. A.L.F. Anand was out of the standard limit. This revealed the presence of foreign fats like soybean, sunflower, palm kernel oil, even lard and beef.
The lab will start operating by January
The lack of quality is due to the lack of an in-house laboratory. Suppliers took advantage of these shortcomings. The NDDB has come forward to donate ghee adulteration testing equipment, which will cost Rs 75 lakh, which is likely to come by December or January as a permanent solution. The EO also said that there are complaints from devotees about the taste and quality of Anna Prasadam. So the TTD formed a committee of experts and found that there are deficiencies in quality. The supply was temporarily stopped. A decision on whether to restore it or not will be taken after thorough testing from experts.
