Images of cow urine or gau mutra bottles being sold in a cash and carry have been shared widely on social media but the store manager says he is surprised by the interest.
Cow urine, or gau mutra has long been considered to hold divine healing properties by some Hindus. The urine was found in a shop in Ilford, selling for 99p a bottle.
In some Indian states, cow urine is sold regularly in many supermarkets.
Cow urine can even be bought on Amazon.co.uk.
A customer, Farooque Azad, was surprised to find the product on the shelf of Quality Foods, Ilford Lane as reported by the Ilford Recorder.
In 2009, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, India's leading Hindu cultural group, developed Gau Jal or Cow Water, marketed as a 'healthy' alternative to Coke and Pepsi.
According to the Ilford Reporter, the manager of Quality Foods, Deepa Kashyap said, “Priests or pandits (Hindu scholars) are the ones that buy it for ceremonies, but it is not to be drunk.
“It is used in India for religious and medical purposes and a lot of temples around here are starting to use it too.
“The cow is sacred and cows’ urine is sacred.”
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