Noted novelist Chetan Bhagat reacted to the ongoing controversy over the contamination of the laddu prasad served at the Tirumala Tirupati Temple in Chittoor, Andhra Pradesh. He took note of the food lab report pointing out these laddus to have the presence of beef fast and fish oil during its preparation. In his X post, Bhagat addressed the recent issue and claimed that most sweet items carry white sugar, which is made involving charred animal bones.
"White sugar is made white with a process involving charred animal bones. Goes in most sweet items," he wrote while suggesting that most desserts, crafted through commonly-used white sugar could be contaminated due to the involvement of such non-vegetarian elements during the preparation process.
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However, the author's post wasn't focused entirely about the prasad issue which has caught the attention of people. It rather asked people to throw light on other important societal topics which need to be talked and solved.
Taking to social media, Bhagat wrote, "Air pollution. Potholes. Not enough college seats. Paper leaks. Poor healthcare. Please enrage on all these as much as alleged Prasad contamination at a particular temple..."
An article by PETA supported the claim made by the Indian author and stated, "Bone char is used to process sugar. It is made from the bones of cattle from Afghanistan, Argentina, India, and Pakistan. As a decolorizing filter, which allows the sugar cane to achieve its desirable white color."
All you need to know about Tirupati Laddu issue
Do Tirupati Laddus have unacceptable ingredients like beef fat and fish oil? A lab report confirmed the usage of animal fat in the preparation of very popular temple prasad from the 7 hills, the Tirupati laddu.
News agency ANI shared the images of the document online and they showed the lab report mentioning the value "S" and suggesting the presence of "foreign fat" which includes beef tallow as a possible source. According to claims made with reference to the data available, the use of fish oil has also come to light, leaving people outraged over the contamination of the temple prasad with non-vegetarian elements.