Lack of testing lab led to use of substandard ghee in Tirumala laddus: TTD EO
By : PTI
Update: 2024-09-20 10:38 GMT
Tirupati: Absence of an in-house adulteration testing laboratory and failure to send ghee samples to external labs for quality checks led to compromised quality of ghee supplied for Tirumala laddus.
This was stated on Friday by Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams executive officer J Syamala Rao at a media meet in Tirumala.
He said, “These shortcomings allowed a supplier, AR Dairy Foods Pvt. Ltd, to take undue advantage and deliver poor-quality ghee. The supplier's rate of `320 per kg was suspiciously low compared to the usual range. This raised concern over the ghee’s quality.
"There were five ghee suppliers to TTD —the Premier Agri Foods, Kriparam Dairy, Vaishnavi, Sri Parag Milk and AR Dairy Foods. Their rates ranged from `320 to `411 per kg.
“The rates quoted by the suppliers were too low for pure ghee. All suppliers were warned by the new administration to maintain quality or face testing and blacklisting. Despite this warning, four tankers of ghee supplied by the AR Dairy Foods were found to be substandard,” Rao said.
According to the EO, the issue came to light when, on July 6 and July 12, 2024, two tankers each from AR Dairy Foods were seized for suspicion of adulteration. Samples sent to the National Dairy Development Board’s CALF Lab confirmed that the ghee was of poor quality.
“As per the purity test, the milk fat content was only 20.32 per cent, far below the required 95.68 per cent to 104.32 per cent range. This indicated that foreign fats had been mixed to make the substance appear like ghee,” he said.
"Further analysis showed severe adulteration with the S-value — an indicator of milk fat purity — falling outside the acceptable range of 98.05 to 104.32. The values found in the ghee from AR Dairy Foods ranged from 23.22 to 116, suggesting the presence of foreign fats such as soya bean oil, sunflower oil, palm kernel fat fish oil, or even lard or beef tallow," Rao stated.
AR Dairy Foods' tender was finalized on March 12, 2024, the agreement was concluded on May 8, 2024, and the supply started on May 15, 2024. Of the contracted 850,000kg of ghee, 68,000kg had been supplied before the irregularities were noticed, he said.
“The company has been blacklisted, and criminal charges against the company will be pursued.”
To prevent such situations in future, TTD has decided to set up a state-of-the-art laboratory for testing ghee and other ingredients. NDDB has offered to donate equipment for ghee adulteration testing. It would cost `75 lakh. This facility is expected to be operational by December 2024 or January 2025. Regular quality checks will be ensured, the EO said.
Rao gave an assurance that only pure cow ghee will be used for the laddus, and that the sanctity and purity of the laddu prasadam will be maintained.
It was explained that the report from the NDDB, released on July 23, 2024, confirmed adulteration in the ghee supplied by AR Dairy Foods. “The S-value, an indicator of milk fat purity, fell outside the acceptable range of 98.05 to 104.32, with values between 19.72 and 117.42. This indicated possible adulteration with foreign fats, including oils like soya bean, sunflower and palm kernel, or even animal fats such as lard or beef tallow.”
The NDDB report also cautioned that certain factors such as cows being fed fodder with high vegetable oil content, could lead to false positives.
He said, “These shortcomings allowed a supplier, AR Dairy Foods Pvt. Ltd, to take undue advantage and deliver poor-quality ghee. The supplier's rate of `320 per kg was suspiciously low compared to the usual range. This raised concern over the ghee’s quality.
"There were five ghee suppliers to TTD —the Premier Agri Foods, Kriparam Dairy, Vaishnavi, Sri Parag Milk and AR Dairy Foods. Their rates ranged from `320 to `411 per kg.
“The rates quoted by the suppliers were too low for pure ghee. All suppliers were warned by the new administration to maintain quality or face testing and blacklisting. Despite this warning, four tankers of ghee supplied by the AR Dairy Foods were found to be substandard,” Rao said.
According to the EO, the issue came to light when, on July 6 and July 12, 2024, two tankers each from AR Dairy Foods were seized for suspicion of adulteration. Samples sent to the National Dairy Development Board’s CALF Lab confirmed that the ghee was of poor quality.
“As per the purity test, the milk fat content was only 20.32 per cent, far below the required 95.68 per cent to 104.32 per cent range. This indicated that foreign fats had been mixed to make the substance appear like ghee,” he said.
"Further analysis showed severe adulteration with the S-value — an indicator of milk fat purity — falling outside the acceptable range of 98.05 to 104.32. The values found in the ghee from AR Dairy Foods ranged from 23.22 to 116, suggesting the presence of foreign fats such as soya bean oil, sunflower oil, palm kernel fat fish oil, or even lard or beef tallow," Rao stated.
AR Dairy Foods' tender was finalized on March 12, 2024, the agreement was concluded on May 8, 2024, and the supply started on May 15, 2024. Of the contracted 850,000kg of ghee, 68,000kg had been supplied before the irregularities were noticed, he said.
“The company has been blacklisted, and criminal charges against the company will be pursued.”
To prevent such situations in future, TTD has decided to set up a state-of-the-art laboratory for testing ghee and other ingredients. NDDB has offered to donate equipment for ghee adulteration testing. It would cost `75 lakh. This facility is expected to be operational by December 2024 or January 2025. Regular quality checks will be ensured, the EO said.
Rao gave an assurance that only pure cow ghee will be used for the laddus, and that the sanctity and purity of the laddu prasadam will be maintained.
It was explained that the report from the NDDB, released on July 23, 2024, confirmed adulteration in the ghee supplied by AR Dairy Foods. “The S-value, an indicator of milk fat purity, fell outside the acceptable range of 98.05 to 104.32, with values between 19.72 and 117.42. This indicated possible adulteration with foreign fats, including oils like soya bean, sunflower and palm kernel, or even animal fats such as lard or beef tallow.”
The NDDB report also cautioned that certain factors such as cows being fed fodder with high vegetable oil content, could lead to false positives.