Tirupati laddu row: Why the supply of Nandini ghee to the temple ended in 2023 after 50 years?

CNN Central News & Network–ITDC India Epress/ITDC News Bhopal: The alleged use of substandard ingredients and animal fat in Tirupati laddu, the sacred offering at Sri Venkateswara temple in Tirupati, has triggered a political slugfest with Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu pinning the blame on the previous YSRCP government.

Though the lab report suggested that the ghee contained beef tallow and pork lard did not mention any manufacturing companies, the controversy has shed light on why the Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF), which had been supplying Nandini ghee to the temple, stopped doing so in 2023.

Last July, KMF president Bhima Nayak said the company stopped the supply of ghee to the temple after the price hike of Nandini milk products. The KMF demanded a higher price to continue supplying ghee, but Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) did not agree to their terms. This contract was annulled on August 1, 2023.

Nayak added that the TTD has found a new company which provides them ghee to make Tirupati laddus at a lower price but did not mention which company that was.