Tirumala Laddu Row: Police Complaint Lodged Against AR Dairy For ‘Supplying Adulterated Ghee’

Tirupati DSP L. Subbarayudu confirmed that the complaint revolved around the firm for allegedly violating TTD’s strict quality standards by providing ghee suspected to contain adulterants.

Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), the managing body of the renowned Lord Venkateswara temple in Tirumala, has given a formal complaint against Tamil Nadu-based AR Dairy Foods Pvt Ltd, accusing the company of supplying adulterated ghee for temple use. The complaint was filed by TTD's procurement general manager, Murali Krishna, at the Tirupati East police station.

Tirupati district Superintendent of Police, L. Subbarayudu, confirmed that the complaint revolved around the firm allegedly violating TTD’s strict quality standards by providing ghee suspected to contain adulterants. The case has been registered under multiple legal provisions and may be handed over to the Special Investigation Team (SIT) set up by the Andhra Pradesh government to investigate such matters.

Earlier, TTD Executive Officer, J. Shyamala Rao, revealed in a press briefing that lab tests indicated the presence of animal fat and lard in samples of the ghee supplied by AR Dairy Foods. However, the company has strongly refuted the allegations, claiming that all its products have passed quality checks.

The spokesperson for AR Dairy Foods stated that the company only supplied ghee to TTD during June and July and maintained that their products were in full compliance with required standards.

According to TTD, five companies Premier Agri Foods, Kriparam Dairy, Vaishnavi, Sri Parag Milk, and AR Dairy were supplying ghee at prices ranging from Rs. 320 to Rs. 411 per kilogram. Among the samples sent for testing, four ghee tankers from AR Dairy were found to be substandard, according to Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams.

TTD said: "S-value analysis carried out on the samples, sent to the reputable NDDB CALF Anand, showed results outside the standard limits, indicating the presence of foreign fats."

"Foreign fats such as soybean, sunflower, palm kernel fat, or even lard and beef tallow. The acceptable S-value range for pure milk fat is between 98.05 and 104.32, but the tested samples showed values ranging from 23.22 to 116, indicating significant deviations," it said.