Lab report confirms presence of animal fat in Tirumala laddu, claims TDP

Beef tallow, lard, and fish oil were found in ghee used for the preparation of Tirupati laddu when the YSR Congress Party was in power in Andhra Pradesh, the ruling Telugu Desam Party said on Thursday.  

Day after Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu stated that animal fat was used in preparation of the famous laddu of Tirumala temple, party spokesman Anam Venkata Ramana Reddy revealed that a report of a sample of ghee tested at Gujarat-based livestock laboratory confirmed the presence of foreign fat including beef tallow, lard (pig fat) and fish oil.

The test done at the NDDB CALF Lab, a facility recognized by the Central government, shows the ghee contained suspected adulterants. These also included soybean, sunflower, olive, rapeseed, linseed, what germ, maize germ, cotton seed, coconut, palm kernel fat, and palm oil.

The Centre of Analysis and Learning in Livestock and Food (CALF) at the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) received the sample on July 9, while the lab report was dated July 16.

The TDP spokesperson cited the report after the YSR Congress Party slammed the Chief Minister for making the claim the laddu had animal fat.

YSRCP MP Y. V. Subba Reddy, who was the Chairman of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) when the YSRCP was in power, termed the allegation "malicious" and said that Naidu would "stoop to any level for political gain".

Subba Reddy, who is the uncle of former Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy, said Naidu had severely damaged the sanctity of the Tirumala temple and the faith of crores of Hindus with his remarks. To counter Subba Reddy’s allegation, Anam Venkata Ramana Reddy displayed the lab report at a news conference.

The TDP spokesperson also pointed out that premium-quality ghee typically costs over Rs 1,000 per kg but the TTD, under the previous government, awarded the contract for the supply of ghee at a mere Rs 320 per kg, implying that such a low price could only be met through substandard sourcing or corruption.

The TDP leader claimed that the tender for 15,000 kg of ghee was potentially linked to bribery, raising concerns over transparency and accountability in government contracts. He also lashed out at the YSRCP for not even establishing a dedicated lab for ghee certification, which could not have cost more than Rs 75 lakh.

Earlier, Social Welfare Minister Dola Sree Bala Veeranjaneya Swamy said that a comprehensive inquiry will be conducted into irregularities in TTD. The minister told media persons that the Chief Minister repeated what the officials have already stated on the quality of ingredients used in making laddu, also known as Tirumala laddu. The famous sweet is given as prasadam to the devotees at the famous Sri Venkateswara temple in Tirupati, which is run by TTD, a body nominated by the state government.