Khushi Bhuta, Pune
AR Dairy Food Private Limited, the ghee supplier to Sri Venkateswara Temple, has claimed that their ghee was unadulterated. Furthermore, they have expressed utmost confidence in their quality control. The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) took legal action against the Tamil Nadu-based dairy company a day before their response.
In response to the allegation by TTD Executive Officer J Shyamala Rao claiming that the quality of the ghee supplied was highly adulterated, Kannan, a quality-control officer from AR Dairy Food Private Limited has called the claims unsubstantiated of a Tamil news channel. The dairy company has further questioned the report on which the allegations were based.
Discussing the quality control procedure of the company, he has clarified that they have their own process of procurement through procurement centers that check the quality of the dairy through high technology equipment. They have moreover claimed to test up to 102 different parameters of milk in the span of 32 seconds.
The quality control officer has further claimed that the company gets all of their manufactured products tested in national laboratories after which another set of quality control checks are conducted by TTD’s own food safety officers. He has also demanded videographic evidence in terms of transparency when in the context of the procedure to extract the samples for testing.
Specifically responding to the allegation of fish oil usage, Kannan has claimed that the pungent smell of fish is rather easy to notice. He has also compared the prices of the more expensive fish oil and ghee and called the allegation absurd. On the behalf of the company, he has stated, “We take immense pride in supplying ghee to TTD. For us, it’s not just business; it’s a blessing and honor.”The controversy arises in the context of a Gujarat-based lab indicating the presence of animal fat in the ghee used to make the prasadam laddoos offered in the pilgrimage Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh. The TTD board had requested for the test after several devotees recently complained about the quality of the laddoos offered lately. The Centre of Analysis and Learning in Livestock and Food, or CALF, a lab at the center-run National Dairy Development Board in Gujarat published the report on the 17th of July, while it was released on Wednesday.