Tirupati Laddu Controversy: Amid the controversy over adulteration in the ghee used for making prasad at the Tirumala Tirupati shrine, Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) Executive Officer Shamala Rao confirmed that tests revealed the ghee was adulterated with both vegetable and animal fats. He announced that an expert committee has been formed to address the issue, improve ghee supplies and strengthen internal systems to prevent future occurrences.

Shamala Rao stated, "The report says the ghee sample is adulterated with vegetable fat and also animal fat. Animal fat adulteration includes lard (pig fat), palm oil, beef tallow, and fish oil including grape seed and linseed. The ghee sample was a concoction of all this and the result was abnormally low. Pure milk fat should have a reading between 95.68 to 104.32, but all our ghee samples had values around 20, which means the ghee supplied is highly adulterated... We started the procedure for blacklisting and also penalising the supplier."

#WATCH | Tirupati Laddu Prasadam row | Executive officer of Tirumala Tirupathi Devastanam (TTD) Shamala Rao says, "The report says the ghee sample is adulterated with vegetable fat and also animal fat. Animal fat adulteration includes lard (pig fat), palm oil, beef tallow, and… pic.twitter.com/LPdyuCCvA3

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Additionally, TTD has formed an expert committee to set up an in-house lab to ensure future quality control and they have already identified new suppliers who meet the required standards.

The controversy arose after Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu raised concerns over the presence of animal fat in the ghee used to make the Tirupati laddus, sparking public outrage. Following the issue, four truckloads of ghee were found to be substandard, and lab tests confirmed adulteration, including lard.

Rao confirmed that similar results were found across all tested samples, leading to an immediate halt in supplies and the initiation of legal action against the supplier. Rao acknowledged that the lack of an in-house lab and reliance on external testing had contributed to the issue, allowing suppliers to exploit these gaps. He assured the public that measures are now in place to prevent such problems in the future.