KOLLAM: IN a setback to Kerala State Cashew Workers Apex Industrial Cooperative Society (Capex) revival attempts, Tirumala Venkateswara Temple in Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh, rejected the first lot of cashew from the society citing quality issues.
It is learnt that the temple authorities rejected the lot as it contained substandard cashew and undesirable cashew dust that affects the quality of laddu produced at the temple. The 5-tonne load was sent from the state on October 3 in a celebrated event in the presence of Cashew Minister J Mercykkutty Amma. The society had purchased the cashew kernels at the rate of `669 per kg. Capex MD, S Anil Kumar was unavailable for comment.
However, the cashew sent by the Kerala State Cashew Corporation (KSCDC) has been accepted by the temple authorities. It has also expressed interest in purchasing some 100 tonnes of cashew from the corporation. The second consignment of 10 tonnes will be sent next week.
Lack of facility for quality check
“Capex has no proper facility to check the quality of the materials,” said R Rajesh, its former MD. The rejection also points at the lack of knowledge of the officers in the subject, as the major responsibility of any management should be to recheck its products before exploring new platform, he added. The temple follows a strict policy towards the quality of any ingredients supplied to them. “Such a rejection may affect the society’s marketing prospects,” said Rajesh.