Written By: Muskan Gupta | Published : November 10, 2025 1:41 PM IST
Tirupati temple in Andhra Pradesh is making headlines for a shocking food-supply scandal. According to the investigation led by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), approximately 68 lakh kg of fake ghee costing 250 crore had been supplied to the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) between 2019 and 2024 by a dairy which had never purchased a drop of milk or butter from anyone.
According to reports, the SIT discovered during the investigation into the alleged adulteration of ghee used in the famous Tirupati Laddu prasadam. This was found after the arrest of suspected supplier Ajay Kumar Sugandh, who furnished the dairy with chemicals such as monodiglycerides and acetic acid ester. "The dairy never procured a drop of milk or butter, yet created fake procurement and payment records to project large-scale ghee production," the investigators wrote in their report.
Even after Bhole Baba Organic Dairy was blacklisted by the TTD in 2022, its proprietors continued to provide fake ghee through alternative channels. According to sources, the CBI funnelled supplies through numerous dairies, including Vyshnavi Dairy in Tirupati, Mal Ganga in Uttar Pradesh, and AR Dairy Foods in Tamil Nadu.
In one especially horrifying case, four containers of ghee contaminated with animal fat, originally supplied by AR Dairy and rejected by the TTD in July 2024. According to the investigation, "The rejected ghee stocks were supplied back to the Tirupati trust by Bhole Baba promoters through Vyshnavi Dairy."
According to the CBI, the same quantity of ghee was then used to make the famed Tirupati Laddu prasadams, linking the contaminated supplies straight to the temple's hallowed offerings.
Here are some of the common ways to check the purity of ghee:
Light up a spoon of ghee, which burns in a safe yellow, and unadulterated ghee in white or grey smoke.
Add some ghee to hot water; pure ghee sinks down below, and artificial ghee either rises or covers the surface.
Rub ghee between your palms. Pure ghee melts, and it smells nice; fake ghee is sticky and smells stale.
Drop a little iodine into melted ghee. As the ghee changes its colour to blue or purple, it is not pure; when it remains unchanged, it is pure.
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