Tirupati Ghee Vendor In The Dock Denies Animal Fat-Containing Sample Is Theirs; Then Whose Sample Was It?

Amid controversy over Tirupati laddus, A R Dairy Food has claimed that the 'ghee' samples, in which animal fat containing traces of beef tallow and fish oil was found, were not supplied by the company.

Earlier on Friday (20 September), Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) executive officer J Syamala Rao claimed that the four ghee samples sent to NDDB were from A R Dairy Food.

He further explained that the 'ghee' sent for sampling had arrived in four tankers on 6 July and 12 July from A R Dairy. However, the dairy claimed to have stopped supply after July as TTD changed the vendors. 

"First of all, the NDDB lab test report does not say that the ghee sample was from A R Diary. The report also mentions that there is a possibility of false positive results," A R Dairy said in its statement.

It added that there are a number of reasons why traces of foreign fat may be found in ghee, including cow feed but took a stand that the said 'ghee' sample cannot be from A R Dairy Food.

"TTD accepted the tankers of ghee we provided this June and July only after test reports were to their satisfaction. We stopped supplying after July as TTD changed the vendors," the Dindigul-based dairy said.

Notably, after the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) came to power earlier this year, it renewed the ghee contract with Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF) for the Nandini brand ghee.

Earlier too, KMF was the ghee supplier for Tirupati laddus but in July last year, the contract was not renewed as Nandini quoted a price of Rs 400 per kg, while the government chose the lowest bidder at Rs 320 per kg.

TDP spokesperson Anam Venkata Ramana Reddy alleged that it is not possible to supply pure and unadulterated ghee at that rate when the market rate for good quality pure ghee can be Rs 900 per kg.

“After the new government came to power, they asked us to supply Nandini ghee and we have started supplying again," KMF Chairman Bheema Naik was quoted as saying by Indian Express.

While KMF takes pride in supplying 'pure ghee to the temple,' Reddy believes that the rise in sales will help the cooperative dairy to recover from losses and increase its brand value as a supplier to the TTD.

However, amid the controversy, nobody is ready to take the blame for supplying animal fat-containing ghee and it is yet to see after A R Dairy's denial, TTD pins blame on whom.