The row over alleged irregularities in the ghee supplied to the Sabarimala Temple intensified on Monday, with Milma Chairman M S Mani strongly rejecting the claims against the product's quality.

The controversy stems from a report submitted by Devaswom Secretary Rajamanickam, which the Devaswom Minister K Muraleedharan described as containing "shocking findings". Following the report, the government ordered a Crime Branch probe into the allegations.

Addressing a press conference on Monday, Mani dismissed the allegations and welcomed an investigation. He asserted that Milma does not adulterate its products to increase profit margins. "It is not in our agenda to adulterate our products to raise profits," he said.

Mani also said Milma had not received any communication from the Travancore Devaswom Board indicating any quality issues with the supplied ghee. "We have not received any intimation from the Devaswom Board informing us of quality issues after testing," he said.

According to Mani, Milma had supplied the full quantity of 1.65 lakh litres under the agreement, and the board had settled the payment for the supplies made.

For the 2025-26 period, the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) signed an agreement with Milma for the supply of 1.65 lakh litres of ghee. Of this, 1.5 lakh litres have already been supplied, while the remaining quantity is yet to be delivered.

Reacting to the report earlier, Muraleedharan had said the issue went beyond food adulteration, alleging that it amounted to deceiving and exploiting devotees while undermining their faith.

According to the minister, the ghee supplied to Sabarimala was delivered in 30 batches of 5,000 litres each. So far, only six batches have been tested, and all were found to be substandard.

Muraleedharan said the Crime Branch should examine the entire supply chain, including how the ghee was transported from Milma to Sabarimala, and determine whether the alleged adulteration occurred before or after the consignments reached the temple.

To prevent similar incidents in the future, the government has decided to make quality testing mandatory for every batch of ghee used at Sabarimala.