NEW DELHI: The famous Aravana payasam ( kheer) from the holy Sabarimala temple was recently stuck in a controversy over the food preparation method. Over 600,000 tins of Aravana were kept locked by the authorities after allegations surfaced about the presence of pesticides in cardamom in the Payasam. However, thrashing all such doubts, a recent report cleared the Aravana as edible and debunked all such news regarding pesticide presence in Aravana. The Union Ministry of Health and the Food Safety Authority submitted an affidavit to the Supreme Court clarifying this. Food Safety Authority Joint Director K. Balasubramaniam submitted the lab test report which was conducted in the govt analysis lab in Thiruvananthapuram.

Following the Supreme Court directive, 16 samples of eight batches of Aravana were tested. A menial presence of pesticides was found but the report warded off any major threats and declared Aravana as edible with no major fear of contacting any health ailment. On May 15, the Supreme Court directed the Food Safety Authority to check the quality of Aravana following the demand of the Travancore Devaswom Board.

Travancore Devaswom Board president K. Anantha Gopan welcomed the SC direction and said further steps regarding Aravana distribution will be planned later, by conforming with SC standards. The board has incurred a loss of seven crores due to not selling more than 6 lakh Aravana tins. The plans to compensate for the loss will be decided after taking suggestions from the Supreme Court.

The president also promised to conduct laboratory tests of food samples produced in Sabarimala to ensure hygiene and good health among devotees.