“We have issued several guidelines for ensuring the quality of prasadam at the temples. The precautions have been taken for the safety of devotees. The officials should make surprise visits. Instruction has been given to submit a quality report every month. Chemical analysis and physical analysis of samples or ingredients should be conducted”, he added.
The major 15 temples are:
1. Chamundeshwari Temple – Mysuru
2. Kukke Subrahmanya Temple
3. DurgaParameshwari – Kateel
4. Chikkatirupathi – Kolar
5. Mandarthi Temple – Udupi
6. Ghati Subramanya – Doddaballapur
8. RanganathaSwamy Temple – Sriranga Town
9. Nimishamba Temple – Srirangapatna10. Nanjundeshwara Temple – Nanjangudu
11. Renuka Yellamma Temple – Saundatti, Belagavi
12. Dodda Ganesha Temple – Basavanagudi, Bengaluru
13. Venugopala Swamy Temple – Malleswaram, Bengaluru
The guidelines issued by the Endowment Department include: Conducting quality tests on ingredients before preparing prasadam daily; Inspecting and certifying the quality of daily ingredients used for prasadam preparation with local health authorities; Testing and ensuring the quality of oil used; mandatory testing for ground flour, jaggery, sugar, wheat, grapes, cardamom, and other ingredients; maintaining cleanliness at the prasadam preparation centre; testing food ingredients before storing them in the warehouse; regularly conducting quality tests on food ingredients.
These guidelines are aimed at ensuring the quality, safety and hygiene of prasadam prepared in temples, protecting the health and well-being of devotees, the department said.