A R Dairy Food Private Limited – which is at the centre of a storm over allegations that ghee supplied by it to the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) to prepare Tirupati laddoos contained animal fat – has denied allegations of adulteration.
The company, based in Dindigul, Tamil Nadu, has said that it is one of the many suppliers of ghee to TTD. “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. 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. There are a number of reasons why traces of foreign fat may be found in ghee, including cow feed,” the head of quality control department at A R Dairy Food told The Indian Express.
“That ghee sample cannot be from A R Dairy Food Private Limited, that is our stand,” she said.
This comes on a day TTD executive officer J Syamala Rao claimed that the four ghee samples sent to NDDB were from A R Dairy Food, and had arrived in four tankers on July 6 and July 12 this year.
On Thursday, Andhra Pradesh minister and Telugu Desam Party’s national general secretary Nara Lokesh Naidu had told The Indian Express that a laboratory test of the ghee used to prepare the laddoos confirmed the presence of fish oil and beef tallow. CM Chandrababu Naidu has blamed the previous YSR Congress Party government for the alleged adulteration.
On Friday, the ruling Telugu Desam Party’s spokesperson Anam Venkata Ramana Reddy told The Indian Express that the TTD, under YSRCP government, had awarded the contract to procure ghee to the lowest bidder, who quoted Rs 320 per kg.
“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. The YSRCP government compromised on the quality of ghee by going for such a low bid,” Reddy claimed.
Last July, the TTD had decided not to renew its contract with the Karnataka Milk Federation and instead opted for other suppliers after floating e-tenders. Chairman of KMF Bheema Naik had stated then that they were selling ghee at Rs 400 per kg, and that if any company has bid at a much lower price, they will compromise on the quality.
After the TDP-led NDA came to power in June this year, the contracts were cancelled and TTD renewed ties with the Karnataka Milk Federation to supply Nandini brand ghee again.
“After the new government came to power, they asked us to supply Nandini ghee and we have started supplying again. It is with pride and devotion that we supply pure ghee to the temple, which provides laddoos to crores of devotees,” Naik said.
TDP spokesperson Anam Venkata Ramana Reddy said that KMF agreed to supply at Rs 475 per kg although it will incur a loss. “KMF’s understanding is that they will recover the loss from the rise in sales due to increase in the brand value of Nandini ghee, which is used to prepare the Tirupati laddoos,” Reddy said.
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