Dairy brand Amul has refuted the claims that it supplied ghee to the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD), the shrine body managing the Tirumala temple in Andhra Pradesh, amid row over use of animal fat in prasadam given at the temple.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Friday, the Gujarat-based cooperative society wrote, "This is in reference to some social media posts mentioning that Amul Ghee was being supplied to Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD). We wish to inform that we have never supplied Amul Ghee to TTD."
Labelling all such claims as "misinformation", the post further read, "We also wish to clarify Amul Ghee is made from Milk at our state-of-the-art production facilities which are ISO certified. Amul Ghee is made from high quality pure milk fat. The milk received at our dairies passes through stringent quality checks including adulteration detection as specified by FSSAI."
A central government lab's test report on Thursday indicated that the cow ghee procured by TTD contains traces of fish oil, beef tallow, and lard. Tirumala Trupati Devasthanam (TTD) procures ghee to make different Prasadams, including the famous Tirupati Laddu sold to pilgrims who visit the Tirumala hill shrine. Lard is a semi-solid white fat product obtained by rendering the fatty tissue of a pig.
The controversy has taken political hue with the TTD, backing Chief Minister N Chandra Babu Naidu's claim that the famous 'prasadam' had animal fat and YSRCP president YS Jagan Mohan Reddy dubbing the accusations as "atrocious".
The Centre too weighed in, with Union Health Minister JP Nadda seeking a report on the matter from the Andhra Pradesh government and promising suitable action after examining it. Food Minister Pralhad Joshi called for an investigation into the allegations.
(With PTI inputs)
Published 21 September 2024, 03:49 IST