After the row over Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu’s sensational revelation that animal fat was used in preparation of Tirumala Laddu Prasadam creating concerns all over the country, the Union Health Minister J P Nadda on Friday has sought a full report on the issue. He said that the Government of India will further examine the matter and take suitable action.
“I got to know about the issue through social media. I spoke to Cahndrababu Naidu today and asked to send the entire report,” Nadda said while addressing a press conference on the first 100 days of the Modi 3.0 government.
Answering a question on preventive options in regard to adulteration of food, Nadda said: “It’s very difficult to say. FSSAI is working on it. We have checks at every entry and exit point of testing facilities and there are several certifications as well. About this incident, let me get into the details of it and we shall decide accordingly.”
Meanwhile, A R Dairy Food Private Limited – which is at the centre of a storm over allegations that ghee supplied by it to the TTD to prepare Tirupati laddu contained animal fat – has denied allegations of adulteration. Moreover, it claimed that the ghee sample cannot be from their company.
The company, based in Dindigul of Tamil Nadu, has said that it is one of the many suppliers of ghee only to TTD. Moreover, it claimed that the NDDB lab test report does not say that the ghee sample was from A R Diary.
“The report also mentions that there is a possibility of false positive results. TTD accepted the tankers of ghee we provided this June and July only after test reports were to their satisfaction. We stopped supplying after July as TTD changed the vendors. There are a number of reasons why traces of foreign fat may be found in ghee, including cow feed,” it added.
Incidentally, the company’s claims come on a day TTD executive officer J Syamala Rao claimed that the four ghee samples sent to NDDB were from A R Dairy Food, and had arrived in four tankers on July 6 and July 12 this year.