FSSAI notice
Tirupati laddu ghee: FSSAI show-cause notice and CBI case (2024 to 2025)
Last checked 1 October 2026
FSSAI issued a show-cause notice on 20 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 Central Licensing Authority (Tamil Nadu) show-cause notice of 20 Sep 2024; Madras HC WP(MD) 23551 of 2024, order of 4 Oct 2024; CBI arrests, Feb 2025
- Evidence
- Government document
- Latest action
- 10 February 2025
- Last checked
- 1 October 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.
A.R.Dairy Food Private Limited vs Food Safety And Standards Authority Of India (Madras High Court, 14 Feb 2025)
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 Always check the linked government document for the current position, and tell us if something is out of date.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 organise and explain what the document says. The document above is the authority.
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, 20 Sep 2024 (announced 23 Sep)
- 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 20 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.
Sources
Government documents
- A.R.Dairy Food Private Limited vs Food Safety And Standards Authority Of India (Madras High Court, 14 Feb 2025)CourtIndian Kanoon (copy of judgment) · 14 February 2025
News reports
- 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