Logo of Raaj Milk, under which A R Dairy Food Private Limited sells its products.
Credit: raajmilk.com
Chennai: Tamil Nadu-based A R Dairy Food Private Limited, which is at the centre of a raging row over allegations that the ghee it supplied to prepare famous Tirupati laddu contained animal fat, on Friday dismissed the accusations of adulteration levelled against it.
Representatives of the Dindigul-headquartered company, which has now been blacklisted, told reporters that the company supplied ghee to Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams, the organisation that manages the Lord Balaji Temple, in June and July but stopped the supply thereafter.
They were also challenged to collect samples of ghee and their other products from the open market and get them tested in any lab while hoping that there would be no “adulteration”.
“The results will show that there are no shortcomings in the genuity and quality of our products. We don’t agree with the accusations levelled against our company,” a representative said.
Meanwhile, a team from the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) is believed to have visited the factory of A R Dairy in Dindigul.
The company maintained that the National Dairy Development Board's (NDDB) lab test report of laddus from Tirupati temple which were tested didn’t mention that the ghee used in them was supplied by A R Dairy.
“There is no proof to show that our ghee was adulterated. We have been in the business for 25 years and we have no reason to lie,” the representative of the company said.
The clarification from the company came on a day TTD executive officer J Syamala Rao alleged that samples sent to NDDB were from A R Dairy.
Another representative, Kannan, said the share of ghee supplied to TTD by A R Dairy was a mere 0.5 to 1 per cent of its total production and that its ghee was tested by NAAB lab before it was sent to Tirupati.
“We had sent the ghee along with the report. There is no deviation. We did send ghee for production of laddus and we are just one among the suppliers to TTD. We have enough proof to show that the quality of ghee is fine,” he said.
Kannan also claimed that they have sent samples to the TTD lab, which has found no irregularities. “There was a rumour about defects in the ghee sent in June and July, but the authorities collected samples and said our ghee is fine,” he added.
The company also said it was not aware of being “blacklisted” by the TTD though it stopped supplying ghee in August following a decision by the temple management to procure the product from Karnataka’s Nandini Dairy.
A R Dairy Food Private Limited was established in 1995 and claims to be the first to adopt the latest innovations in milk processing technology to deliver Milk Proteins in their best form.