R2I Club Member Hangout

nodegree wrote: ↑Fri Sep 20, 2024 12:34 am First off, is animal fat even available in India at that scale? This is just to appease the Whatsapp University graduates and make it look like the newly elected govt is fixing things.

old-spice2 wrote: ↑Sun Sep 22, 2024 12:13 am

nodegree wrote: ↑Fri Sep 20, 2024 12:34 am First off, is animal fat even available in India at that scale? This is just to appease the Whatsapp University graduates and make it look like the newly elected govt is fixing things.

Beef tallow is imported from outside India. It is low cost and used to adulterate with vanaspati (vegetable oil). Way back in 1970s there was a Jain Shudh Vanaspati Oil factory in Delhi. Some press fellow discovered they were importing large quantity of beef tallow. After further investigation it was found they mix it with "shudh vanaspati oil".

Dalda/Rath are branded vanaspati oil and are not adulterated as it is made by Hindustan Lever/Shriram industries. And there was no WA university or Modi that time. It was IG in power with no opposition whatsoever.

Vanaspati oil was middle class family's substitute for ghee which was 2-3 times more expensive. Beef tallow is also used in manufacture of soap.

Owner of the oil factory was arrested and I still remember it was headline news in Hindustan Times those days. Now people in India have moved on to sunflower, palm and other refined oil.

Quote:
During that period, reports surfaced that beef tallow—a type of animal fat derived from cows—was being imported and mixed with vanaspati, a vegetable-based cooking oil widely used in Indian households. The scandal sparked outrage, especially among the Hindu community, for whom the cow is considered sacred.

sark wrote: ↑Wed Sep 25, 2024 9:13 am Tirupati laddu is the most sacred of all foods in India. If they find a way to adulterate it I do not trust any outside foods in India. I have a nagging suspicion most of the oils they sell are bulk neutral oil they import and then add flavoring to convert it to gingelly oil etc (based on price of raw seeds that is needed to make say 1 liter of oil). I seek out to buy organic sesame oil from american stores instead of buying the idayam brand in indian stores.