Tirupati Laddoo Controversy: 5 temple prasads that have come under the scanner

India is a place deeply rooted in beautiful cultural and religious practices, where millions of people have faith in different deities and regularly visit these places. In most of these temples, prasad is an an integral part of temple worship and is a sacred offering, which is distributed to the devotees after offering to the deity. But with more devotees crowding the temples, mass production of prasad becomes inevitable.Over the years, several of these prasads have found themselves at the heart of controversies, raising questions of authenticity, hygiene, and commercialisation. Recently, the controversy surrounding the Tirupati Laddoo has raised a lot of questions in people's minds about the prasads distributed in the other temples around the country, and thus authorities have tested several other prasads also. Take a look at the other prasads that have been tested recently.
Tirupati Laddoo
The Tirupati Laddoo, being a symbol of tradition from the Tirumala Venkateswara Temple, was found to have been adulterated. Recently, tests unveiled that it was made in animal fats such as lard and tallow, which shows a decrease in its quality and sanctity as it is a religious food item. Even in 2014, there was an issue with artificial sweeteners and mass production, raising questions about whether it is authentic or not. However, the temple trust says it has not indulged in any malpractice and the temple maintains strict quality controls.

Khajrana Ganesh Temple laddoo
In the wake of Tirupati Laddoo row, samples of laddoo, ghee and flour and other contents were taken at the Khajrana Ganesh Temple, a prominent place of worship. The Food and Drug Department took samples of laddoo for testing. Among the concerns was the purity of prasad sold within the temple premises - it remains to be seen if it had led to food safety violations so that action is taken according to law.

Puri Jagannath Mahaprasad
The Mahaprasad of the Jagannath Temple Puri has been questioned on the quality of ghee. The administration, by the district collector, asked the concerned department to inspect if the ghee supplied through Odisha's milk federation, OMFED, is pure. Allegations of adulterated ghee being added was made, over which devotees have requested an investigation that should be made to protect the Mahaprasad as well as uphold the faith of devotees.

Mathura Vrindavan Peda
Mathura's renowned Peda - an essential prasad in the temples of Lord Krishna - formed part of a comprehensive food safety inspection. Samples at forty-three shops were taken from around the temple, and one sample of Peda was sent for further analysis to Lucknow. The operation aims at making sure food products given as prasad to the devotees are of high quality and protect this age-old tradition of using sweets of high quality for religious purposes.

Ujjain Mahakal Prasad
Ujjain's Mahakal Temple prasad, after the controversy related to Tirupati Laddoo, is to be tested by the district administration here. Worrying over possible adulteration, the Food Department is set to test the laddu samples for their purity. This move will save the trust of devotees and ensure that the distributed prasads maintain their religious significance as well as hygiene standards.
Shree Siddhivinayak Temple
As per a recent viral video, a tray of laddoos at the temple showed rats moving around, which also left the temple trust furious, leading to a DCP-level inquiry. Replying to the viral video, Sada Sarvankar, president of the temple trust called it “a conspiracy against Hindu temples”.

(Thumb image courtesy: iStock)