DNA TV Show: Devotees scared about temple offerings amid Tirupati laddu controversy

Whether you believe it or not, while taking Prasad in the temple, you must be thinking whether this Prasad is pure.

Not only you, but every Hindu in the country who goes to temples for darshan is asking themselves this question, especially after the shocking incident at the Tirupati Balaji Temple, where animal fat was allegedly found mixed in the temple's prasad.

This incident has shaken people's trust in one of India's most sacred places. In today's DNA episode, we shed light on the new fear that has been unlocked among devotees about the temple offerings.

In a recent report, it was revealed that the Tirupati Balaji Temple's prasad contains animal fat. This unsettling discovery was made after several tests at four separate labs verified that the ghee used to produce the well-known laddoos contained fat.

The controversy started when Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu expressed worries about a ghee used at the shrine that appeared to be unpure, citing a report from the National Dairy Development Board. Further testing confirmed that A.R. Dairy Food Pvt. Ltd., one of the suppliers, had combined animal fat with the ghee provided to the temple.

Premier Agri Foods, Kriparam Dairy, Vaishnavi, Shri Parag Milk, and A.R. Dairy Food were the five ghee suppliers to the temple. The prices they charged were much lower than market rates, ranging from Rs 320 to Rs 411 per kilogram, raising worries about the quality. Specifically, the A.R. Dairy Food company was found to have contaminated the ghee.

Popular in South India for its "Organic Cow Ghee" and "Raj Ghee," A.R. Dairy Food is headquartered in Dindigul, Tamil Nadu. Samples from the factory have been gathered for additional investigation, and the company has received notifications from the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).

In the current market, a kilogramme of pure cow ghee costs between Rs 1,000 and Rs 1,500. However, the suppliers to the temple were only charging half of this amount. Due to this difference, it was almost hard for the companies to provide pure ghee without adulteration.

Millions of devotees have had their faith shattered by this incident. The issue now revolves around people's faith in temples and their holiness rather than just prasad.