Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao orders testing of ghee samples used in the state from all private companies

Bengaluru: Following allegations of adulteration of ghee that was supplied for the preparation of Laddu at Tirupati, Karnataka Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao has ordered a testing of ghee samples used in the state from all private companies.

While the government recently announced that all the state-run temples will only use Nandini ghee to prepare prasada, there were apprehensions about the quality of ghee available to the public from various other brands. 

Speaking to DH, Health and Family Welfare Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao said that the food safety authorities have been tasked with collecting 250 to 300 samples of ghee manufactured locally across the state. “The decision was taken in the aftermath of the Tirupati laddu issue. The FSSAI teams might complete collecting samples by tomorrow (Tuesday). If any local manufacturer is found adulterating their ghee, the right course of action under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, will be taken against them and they can be banned from producing ghee as well,” he said. 

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) officials said that they had already started collecting samples and a preliminary analysis of all the samples will be conducted soon. “We have asked the officials to collect samples from every district in the state to ensure no samples are left untested. Initially, we will collect one sample and conduct the preliminary tests. If the analysis shows any deviation from the standards, we will take four more samples from such manufacturers and file a legal complaint against them based on the reports,” Srinivas K, Commissioner of Food Safety, Karnataka, told DH.

KMF increases security in transportation of ghee

Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF) which has restarted supplying Nandini ghee to Tirumala Tirupati Devasathanam (TTD) for preparation of laddu has decided to install GPS trackers in the transportation vehicles to ensure the ghee is not adulterated during transportation. 

“We will know if the vehicle is stopped anywhere and this will help us prevent any adulteration on the way,” a senior official said. 

That apart the KMF will also install lockers to the vehicles that can be only opened if the higher authorities provide a OTP after confirmation that the vehicle has reached the TTD premises. Senior officials said that measures were being put in place to ensure the quality of ghee is not compromised at any point.