Shunning Diwali, these TN villages have a reason
With festivals becoming celebrations of consumption to seek happiness, a dozen villages in the Sivaganga district of Tamil Nadu present a different picture.
In the dock over allegations of supplying adulterated ghee for the manufacture of the iconic Tirupati laddu, the A R Dairy (AR Food Products) in Tamil Nadu refuted the charges and asserted that its product is genuine and available in the market which could be tested for quality.
Addressing the media in Dindigul, more than 400 km south of Chennai, where the private firm is functioning from, the company’s quality control officers, Kannan and Leela, said, “We have supplied the ghee only for June-July and now we have stopped it. We are one among the many suppliers. Our share of the total quantum of ghee was not more than 0.5%. It was tested before being sent to the TTD (Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams). We have all the data pertaining to the quality of the ghee supplied as well as the rest.”
“We have been in the business for over 25 years. Our product is everywhere in the market. It can be tested for their quality and content. Also, we have the NABL certification and report.”
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Further, referring to the reports blaming their firm for the adulterated supply of ghee, they said, “There is no deviation found in the NABL report or at the testing carried out at the TTD. We have all the details at our end. Never before a report of ghee adulteration has come about our products, which have both the FSSAI and Agmark certification.”
Meanwhile, with the issue becoming a politically explosive one, an official of the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board landed at the company for inspection. Anitha, Executive Engineer at the TNPCB took samples of the ghee after the inspection at the firm, AR Food products.
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