The office of the Jagannath Puri temple in Odisha has mandated the exclusive use of Omfed ghee, produced by the Odisha State Cooperative Milk Producers' Federation Limited, for all religious activities.
Odisha government minister Prithviraj Harichandan elaborated on this decision, stating, "We had informed about this earlier. The purity of the ingredients used for preparing prasad and diyas will be upheld."
He emphasized that the temple administration has already initiated the process to ensure that only Omfed ghee is utilized.
This decision follows a controversy regarding the use of ghee containing animal fat in the prasad of the renowned Tirupati temple in Andhra Pradesh.
During that time, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu claimed that the previous government had used ghee made from animal fat instead of pure ghee for the preparation of Tirumala Laddu. This assertion was met with protests from Jagan Mohan Reddy's party, which dismissed the allegations.
In light of these events, the Odisha government has also ordered an investigation into the quality of the prasad served at the Jagannath Puri temple.