FSSAI notice
Tirupati laddu ghee: FSSAI show-cause notice and CBI case (2024 to 2025)
Last checked 21 September 2026
FSSAI issued a show-cause notice on 23 Sep 2024 to the ghee supplier named in the Tirupati laddu adulteration allegations, and the CBI arrested dairy company executives in February 2025; no consumer product ban resulted.
- Classification
- Regulatory notice or advisory
- Decided by
- FSSAI; Central Bureau of Investigation
- Reference
- FSSAI show-cause notice, 23 Sep 2024; CBI arrests, February 2025
- Latest action
- 10 February 2025
- Last checked
- 21 September 2026
Tirupati laddu prasadam. Photo: A Tirupathi laddu.jpg by Thamizhpparithi Maari (CC BY-SA 4.0). Brand names and logos belong to their owners and are used here to identify the product this entry is about. All photo credits.
FSSAI issues show cause notice to ghee supplier over adulteration allegations in Tirupati laddu
Our team has checked this record against the published reports, last on 21 September 2026. The government order itself is not published online, or we have not found it yet, so we link the best public report. If you have the order, send it to us and we will link it instead.
Scope. A record here does not by itself mean a product or company is unsafe or banned today. Regulatory actions can apply to one batch, one formulation, one period or one state. Always check the linked government document for the current position, and tell us if something is out of date. How we label records.
Below: Blacklisted's explanationWe explain what has been reported. The report above is the best source we hold.
Key facts
- Allegation
- Ghee supplied for Tirumala laddus adulterated with foreign fats, per a lab report cited by the Andhra Pradesh government in Sep 2024
- Companies named
- AR Dairy Foods; Bhole Baba Organic Dairy
- FSSAI action
- Show-cause notice to the supplier, 23 Sep 2024
- Criminal action
- CBI arrests of dairy company heads, February 2025
- Consumer effect
- No retail product recall; the ghee was supplied institutionally
In September 2024 the Andhra Pradesh government said laboratory tests of ghee supplied to the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams for its laddus showed foreign fats, triggering a national controversy over adulteration of a religious offering. FSSAI issued a show-cause notice on 23 Sep 2024 to the ghee supplier, asking it to explain the findings. The companies named in the wider case were AR Dairy Foods and Bhole Baba Organic Dairy.
In February 2025 the CBI arrested the heads of the dairy companies involved; Business Standard's 10 Feb 2025 timeline records the arrests and the case's progress to that point. The status of the prosecution after February 2025 has not been confirmed for this record.
For consumers the case has no direct shelf consequence. The ghee was an institutional supply, no retail brand was recalled, and FSSAI's action was a show-cause notice rather than a prohibition. The case matters because it is the most prominent recent test of the FSS Act's adulteration provisions.
What this means for you
An institutional supply case
The ghee was supplied to the temple trust, not sold at retail under these companies' names. No shop product was recalled.
Adulteration is a criminal offence
The FSS Act provides for prosecution; the CBI case runs alongside FSSAI's own notice.
This is a record of official orders, not medical advice. Do not stop a prescribed medicine without asking your doctor or pharmacist.
Official sources and primary records
- FSSAI issues show cause notice to ghee supplier over adulteration allegations in Tirupati ladduNewsAll India Radio
- CBI arrests dairy chiefs in Tirupati laddoo ghee adulteration case: timelineNewsBusiness Standard · 10 February 2025