Tirupati Laddu row: TTD files complaint against AR Dairy for adulteration of ghee, probe underway

Tirupati Laddu row: Earlier, the government had formed an SIT under the leadership of senior police officer Sarveshwar Tripathi which will investigate this adulteration case.

Tirupati Laddu row: The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) on Wednesday officially lodged a police complaint for adulteration of ghee in Tirumala Tirupati Laddu. TTD General Manager (Procurement) P. Murali Krishna lodged the complaint against AR Dairy Food Private Limited, Dindigul at East Police Station.

Earlier, the government had formed an SIT under the leadership of senior police officer Sarveshwar Tripathi which will investigate this adulteration case.

Before this, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) had issued a show cause notice to AR Dairy Food Private Ltd, one of the suppliers of ghee for making Tirupati Prasadam and said that the sample sent for testing of AR Dairy failed to meet the parameters.

"As per the information received in this office from The Director Institute of Preventive Medicine, Mangalagin (Andhra Pradesh), your firm, AR Diary Food Private Ltd, was one of the suppliers of ghee to Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) since 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 the NDDB CALF Lab at Anand, Gujarat," the notice said.

"After analysis, the sample from your firm has failed to meet the parameters and your firm has been blacklisted by EO, TTD," it added.

Notably, the show cause notice asserted that by virtue of the above non-conformance of the product "Ghee" manufactured by the firm, which is not meeting the standards, it has contravened the Food Safety and Standards Act 2006, Rules and Regulations made there under.

"In view of all the above stated, 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," the notice said.

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.

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

(With inputs from agencies)