About 170 kg of ghee allegedly made with butter, palm oil, vanaspati and harmful chemicals was found at a dairy in Ongole that supplied hotels, hostels, biryani outlets and wholesale shops, officials said. Officials of the Vigilance and Enforcement Department, along with Food Safety and Legal Metrology Department staff, conducted a surprise inspection at the Shiva Gayatri Milk Dairy and Ghee Preparation Centre in Nagendranagar on Tuesday (October 6, 2026) and seized raw materials worth ₹20 lakh used in the production.

The officials said the ghee was being produced using 95 kg of butter, 75 kg of palm oil, 4 kg of vanaspati and harmful chemicals.

According to the preliminary investigation, about 3,000 kg of ghee, valued at ₹12.80 lakh, was being sold every month. Food safety officials collected samples and sent them to a forensic laboratory in Chennai for testing. A case has been registered against the dairy under Section 6-A of the Essential Commodities Act, 1955, and other relevant laws.

Legal Metrology officials have also registered five cases against the dairy. They said action would be taken against any establishment found selling such adulterated ghee. Vigilance and Enforcement Ongole unit officials said strict measures would be enforced against any form of food adulteration.