Tirupati Laddu Controversy: Health Ministry Issues Show-Cause Notice To Ghee Supplying Company

The health ministry received samples from four companies, out of which one company's samples failed the quality test, revealing adulteration.

Amid the ongoing controversy over the adulteration of Tirupati laddus, the Union Health Ministry has issued a show cause notice to a ghee-supplying company.

 

The health ministry received samples from four companies, out of which one company's samples failed the quality test, revealing adulteration.

 

The move comes even as the 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.

 

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, PTI quoted sources as saying. 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. 

 

A four-hour purification ritual was carried out on Monday at the revered shrine to propitiate Lord Venkateswara Swamy. Several petitions were also 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 row erupted after Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu claimed that substandard ingredients and animal fat were used in Tirupati laddus during the previous YS Jagan Mohan Reddy-led government. 

 

The YSRCP, in turn, has accused Naidu of indulging in heinous allegations for political gains.Naidu subsequently announced a Special Investigation Team to probe these claims. Naidu has announced a Special Investigation Team to probe these claims. As the controversy continues to reverberate nationwide, various quarters are demanding steps to safeguard the sanctity of Hindu temples and their 'prasadam'.