There is great enthusiasm for Diwali in the country. Sweets and dishes are prepared in each house. In such a situation, sweets, especially laddus, are sold in abundance. Meanwhile, Aaj Tak investigated the purity of sweets sold outside famous temples in Delhi, Lucknow and Mumbai in ‘Operation Laddu’. During this time, laboratory experts collected samples from selected temples and nearby shops. Additionally, the candy was sent to several laboratories for testing to determine if it met purity standards.
Tell us where candy samples were taken from…
Delhi: Samples taken from prestigious temples and sweet shops.
The Shri Ram and Aaj Tak Institute team visited four sites in Delhi. This included Jhandewalan temple, Hanuman temple in Connaught Place, Punjab Dairy and Manohar Cake in Vijay Nagar.
Jhandewalan Temple- An employee of a shop opposite a temple in central Delhi openly admitted that he was not making sweets with desi ghee, but with vegetable oils, but allowed the team to take a sample of 250 grams of laddu for further investigation.
Hanuman Temple (Connaught Place)- Here the team took a sample of ‘Pure Desi Ghee Prasad’ from a power outlet inside the temple premises. Due to temple rules, we made a video of purchasing 100 grams of laddu from a distance.
Punjab Dairy (Delhi) – The team bought half a kilo of expensive ghee (Rs 850 per kilo) from a dairy shop in Ashok Vihar, Delhi. The sample was taken secretly to ensure that there was no impact on the testing process.
Manohar Cakes (Vijay Nagar) – The team had bought a 250 gram sample of Bundi laddu made with pure desi ghee sweets from a popular sweet shop in this middle-class area of Delhi.
conclusion- After a week of analysis, Dr. Mukul Das, director of the Shri Ram Institute, confirmed the results. He said three out of four samples were fine, no adulteration was found in them, while the fourth sample was made with vegetable oil and refined. Therefore, the samples from Hanuman Mandir, Manohar Cake and Punjab Dairy met the desi ghee standards, while the sample from Jhandewalan confirmed the trader’s claim of using vegetable oil.
Lucknow: Sweet check at major temple shops
The Aaj Tak team collected samples of sweets sold outside Mankameshwar and Hanuman Setu temples in Lucknow. Samples were collected from reputed sweet shops and sent to the state government’s Food Safety Department laboratory for analysis.
Mankameshwar Temple- Dharam Yadav, owner of a shop near this famous temple, defended the purity of his product and said that any doubts should be investigated. However, a sample from their store had a BR (butyre refractometer) reading of 56.87, indicating the presence of refined vegetable oils instead of desi ghee.
Hanuman Setu Temple A sample of laddu was taken from a 60-year-old establishment in the vicinity of this temple. The sweet, which claims to be a product made from desi ghee, passed laboratory tests, confirming its authenticity.
conclusion- UP Food Safety Department deputy commissioner Vineet Singh said use of desi ghee was found in one sample, while vegetable oil was found in the BR reading of the other sample. Of these two temples in Lucknow, the use of desi ghee was found in the sweets of only one temple.
Mumbai: Laddus and barfi of Siddhivinayak Temple
The Aaj Tak team in Mumbai examined the offerings from the famous Siddhivinayak temple. The team sent these samples to TUV India laboratory in Pune.
conclusion- Tests conducted by TUV India found that both the laddu and barfi samples were fine and free of contaminants. In this, the fatty acid profile and chlorophyll level were in accordance with the guidelines of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). No synthetic dyes, arsenic or prohibited substances were found. TUV India said Siddhivinayak’s laddu and barfi prasad were safe to eat.
