Manufacturer believed to have supplied ghee to Tirupati Balaji Temple for prasad
Tuesday, 08 October 2024 | PNS | DEHRADUN
A central team reached Haridwar on Monday to investigate Bhole Baba Organic Private Limited, a ghee manufacturer, which allegedly supplied 70,000 kilogrammes of ghee to the Tirupati Balaji Temple in Andhra Pradesh for preparing laddus (prasad). This development occurred a day after a joint team of food safety officials from Andhra Pradesh and Haridwar district conducted a surprise inspection of the ghee manufacturing company in Bhagwanpur, Roorkee on Sunday.
During the raid, officials found the factory empty with no employees or ghee production in progress. They seized ghee cans and packaging materials but did not find any ghee products. The deputy commissioner of the Uttarakhand Food Safety and Drug Administration (FDA) GC Kandwal stated that authorities have sealed the factory, barring entry until further notice. He said that as per the investigation, the ghee used in the temple’s sacred laddu prasad was reportedly sourced from this factory for a few months. He said that the company operates under a Central government license, prompting a deeper investigation by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). Kandwal said that the company is licensed under the Central government and a team from there has been investigating the whole matter.
“A team of officers of Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) reached Haridwar on Monday to investigate the matter. They interacted with the officials who conducted the raid of the company on Sunday and took necessary documents and information regarding the same. Further actions will be taken by them accordingly in the matter,” he added. This probe follows a recent controversy over the alleged adulteration of ghee used in the Tirupati Balaji Temple’s prasad. It will be recalled that reports suggest that animal fat, including beef tallow and fish oil, were found in the ghee, causing outrage among devotees and prompting the high level investigation underway.
