Testing labs to be set up at Pampa and Sannidhanam to ensure ghee quality
Dewaswom Minister K. Muraleedharan directs Travancore Dewaswom Board to check the quality of ghee brought in by devotees
A letter from Health and Family Welfare Minister K. Muraleedharan to the president of the Travancore Devaswom Board has been issued to establish quality control laboratories at Pampa and Sannidhanam hospitals. This is to ensure the safety and purity of ghee used by devotees during the Sabarimala pilgrimage season. Tens of thousands of devotees deposit ghee in large vats, which are then stored in six tanks.
When these tanks are full, samples are taken and tested. To conduct these tests, labs jointly operated by the departments of Health, Food Safety, and Forensic Medicine are required. The Food Safety department's tests will detect adulteration, the Health department's tests will identify contamination, and the Forensic Medicine department's tests will detect any toxicity in the food items.
Three samples should be taken from each storage tank - one tested at Sabarimala, another sent to the central lab, and the third stored in a freezer for potential follow-up. The Minister urged the Travancore Devaswom Board to allocate funds for the equipment purchase and to arrange the necessary infrastructure, such as electricity and water, to set up these labs before the Mandala or pilgrimage season commences.
He emphasized that ensuring the health and safety of devotees is a joint responsibility of the State government and the TDB.
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