After a lab report testing the quality of ghee used in making Tirupati Laddoos jolted the faith of millions on Thursday, the issue of adulteration has taken centre stage in Indian politics. Leaders from all the political parties including the BJP, Congress, TDP and others have strongly criticized this ‘sin’ of playing with the faith of devotees and the sanctity of Hinduism.
Nandini – a trusted brand
Now, the tender of ghee for the pious prasadam, particularly, the Tirupati laddoo, has been given to Nandini Ghee. Nandini is the most popular and most trusted brand of milk products in southern India, especially in Andhra Pradesh. Notably, this brand used to deliver the ghee to TTD (Tirumala Tirupati Devsthanam) to make Tirupati laddoo that bagged the GI tag in 2009.
Lost the tender in 2020
If one goes by the documentation, the Nandini brand has sold 4,000 metric tons of ghee between 2013 and 2018 while in 2019, a total of 1,170 tons of ghee was delivered to TTD. In 2020, the supply of ghee from Nandini Ghee was stopped as the tender was given to some other brand. Despite maintaining good quality, Nandini Ghee lost the contract because they couldn’t match the price that other brands offered.
Locking system, GPS in ghee tanker
Now, Nandini has again bagged the contract but taking into consideration the case of adulteration, the ghee brand has taken measures to avoid any chances of adulteration at its best. Nandini Ghee will now have an electronic locking system in the ghee tankers together with GPS.
Also read: Tirupati Laddoos Offered At Ram Mandir Event, Reveals Chief Priest
So, the ghee tankers will be tracked throughout the way when they are supplied from the firm till they are delivered. Also, to open the electronic locker embedded in the tankers, an OTP (One Time Password) generated by the headquarters would be required. This will ensure the quality of the product used for making Tirupati prasadam.
