Tirupati laddu row: FSSAI issues notice to ghee supplier; more PILs filed as temple holds purification ritual

PTI, Sep 24, 2024, 12:08 PM IST

New Delhi/Tirupati (Andhra Pradesh): The country’s food safety regulator has issued a show cause notice to a Tamil Nadu-based firm for allegedly supplying substandard ghee to temple authority Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam even as the chorus for a thorough probe and strict action over the alleged use of animal fat in Tirupati laddus grew louder.

On Monday, a four-hour purification ritual was carried out at the revered shrine to propitiate Lord Venkateswara Swamy after alleged “sacrilegious practices such as mixing animal fats” in making Tirupati laddus (consecrated sweet) and others, temple sources said.

More petitions were filed on the issue in the Supreme Court. Former minister and BJP leader Subramanian Swamy sought a court-monitored inquiry into the issue and former Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) Chairman and YSRCP MP Y V Subba Reddy, who has denied the allegations of adulteration, asked for a probe by an independent committee under a retired Supreme Court judge.

The apex body of the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), which met in Tirupati, also appealed to the Supreme Court to take suo motu cognisance of Tirupati laddu adulteration allegations.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu had on Sunday announced a Special Investigation Team to probe the allegations.

Stepping in, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has asked A R Diary Food Private Ltd why its central licence should not be suspended for contravention of the provisions of the Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Regulation, 2011, according to sources.

According to the notice, FSSAI said it received information from The Director of the Institute of Preventive Medicine, Mangalagiri (Andhra Pradesh), that A R Dairy Food Private Ltd in Dindigul was one of the suppliers of ghee to TTD for the last four years.

Further, as per the information, the ghee procurement committee of TTD has sent all the samples supplied to TTD for testing to NDDB CALF Lab at Anand, Gujarat, it said.

“After analysis, the sample from your firm M/s. A R Dairy Food Private Ltd (FSSAI Central License number 10014042001610) has failed to meet the parameters and your firm has been blacklisted by EO, TTD,” the notice said.

“In view of all the above you are hereby directed to show cause as to why your central licence shall not be suspended for contravention of the above said provisions of the Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Regulation, 2011,” it said.

The regulator asked the firm to send its reply by September 23 failing which it said suitable action will be initiated as per the Food Safety and Standards Act 2006 and Regulations.

Union Minister Chirag Paswan termed the alleged use of animal fat in Tirupati laddus as “worrying and condemnable” and said those involved would face stringent action to prevent such occurrences in the future.

Former Union minister Sharad Pawar said, “If anything was mixed, it is very wrong and action should be taken against those involved.” The controversy has sparked reactions across states. The famous Mankameshwar temple in Uttar Pradesh has now banned offerings of ‘prasad’ bought by devotees from outside and said they can offer homemade ‘prasad’ or fruits.

The temple’s head seer, Devya Giri, on Monday said the distribution of “adulterated” ‘prasad’ in the Tirupati temple was an “unpardonable crime”.

“There can be no bigger blow to Sanatan dharma. So, the administrators of all Hindu temples will have to make joint efforts to provide vegetarian prasad,” Giri said.

Rajasthan had announced a drive from September 23 to 26 to check the purity of the bhogs and prasadams across temples in the state. Karnataka has already mandated the testing of temple prasadam and specified the use of only Nandini ghee for the preparation. In Uttar Pradesh, the Food Safety and Drug Administration (FSDA) has collected 13 samples of ‘prasadam’ from prominent temples in Mathura for testing.

Many political and religious leaders have called for strict measures to protect the sanctity of temples after Chief Minister Naidu alleged on September 18 that the previous Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy-led government had used substandard ingredients and animal fat in Tirupati laddus.

While YSRC chief Jagan Mohan Reddy has accused Naidu of lying and has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging him to intervene, Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan on Monday said Reddy should desist from such “drama” and allow the law to take its own course so that culprits are punished.

“He (Reddy) being an ex-chief minister, he could have just said go ahead, whoever the perpetrators or culprits are, let them get punished. If he is very clean in his heart, there is no need to do all this drama. That’s what I feel,” Kalyan told PTI Videos at Janasena party office in Mangalagiri.

Kalyan had on Sunday commenced his 11-day penance to propitiate the deity over the alleged desecration.

Former chief minister and Congress leader Ashok Gehlot said the central government should form a committee under the chairmanship of a judge of the Andhra Pradesh High Court and expose the truth of this matter.

“This is a matter related to the faith and belief of crores of devotees of India,” he said on X.

“Standard procedures should be laid down to ensure that work at any religious place is done in accordance with the traditions there,” Gehlot said.

Samajwadi Party MP Dimple Yadav alleged that shops in Mathura are selling adulterated ‘khoya’ and demanded an inquiry.

She said adulteration in Tirupati laddu prasadam is a “very serious” matter and it has hurt the religious sentiments of people. “There are reports there that ‘khoya’ being sold in Mathura is also adulterated. The BJP government should institute Inquiry in both the cases,” she said.

In Delhi, Consumer Affairs Secretary Nidhi Khare said her department will consider additional measures to monitor ghee quality in the market only after receiving the FSSAI report.

“We will wait for its report,” Khare stated during a media briefing on the Modi 3.0 government’s 100-day achievements.

She emphasised that food safety falls under FSSAI’s purview, adding, “We should all wait for the FSSAI to take action.” Responding to queries about potential pre-festive season checks on ghee quality, Khare said, “We will take more action, if required, after the FSSAI report and provided there are consumer complaints on the National Consumer Helpline (NCH).” Meanwhile, Swamy in his plea urged the ape court to issue an interim direction to obtain a detailed forensic report from the authorities concerned.

“Today, I filed a PIL seeking Supreme Court direction to investigate unsubstantiated allegation by CM C.B. Naidu that the Tirupati Tirumala Temple Prasadam were adulterated with meat of animals and other rotten items creating chaos amongst bhaktas,” he wrote in a post on X.

CM Naidu has alleged that several procedures to procure ghee by the TTD were altered under Jagan Mohan Reddy government.