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Simple Food Adulteration Tests You Can Do Right Now


Simple Food Adulteration Tests You Can Do Right Now

The quality of food we all eat is declining day by day and a core reason behind it is the process of food adulteration. According to the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), food adulteration is the subtraction or addition of any substance from and to the food which affects its composition and quality.

As a part of the food adulteration process, chemicals, colors and other additives are added to the food which often harms the health of a customer and might lead to a nutrient deficit. Here you can have a look at some simple food adulteration tests you can do right now at your home to find out whether the foods you consume daily are genuine or not.

Detect Water in Milk

Presence of water in milk is such a common problem that most people have accepted it. You shouldn’t be one of them but test for this by following this simple one among food adulteration tests.
  • Take a drop of milk and pour it on a polished and slanting surface.
  •  If the milk is pure, it will flow slowly and leave a white trail behind or it will stay in one place.
  •  If the milk is adulterated, it will flow instantly, and there will be no marks.

Detect Detergent in Milk

Not many people know that the milk they are considering to be nutritious is actually loaded with detergent. To test for the same, just follow these simple steps:
  • Take 10 ml of milk and water and shake the mixture.
  • If the milk is pure, it will form a thin layer but if the milk has detergent, it will form a dense lather.

Detect Starch in Milk

Mixing starch like chenna, paneer, and khoya in milk is quite common. To detect it, you need to boil 2-3 ml of milk with 5 ml of water.
  • When the mixture cools down, you should add 3 drops of iodine tincture to it.
  • If the milk has starch, it will turn blue.

Detect Starch in Butter or Ghee

If you suspect that there is a starch such as sweet or mashed potatoes in butter or ghee you are buying then you can check for this food adulteration tactic by following these steps:
  • Take half a teaspoon of butter and ghee in a transparent glass bowl and mix 3 drops of iodine tincture.
  • Again, there will be some blue color present that will indicate adulteration.

Detect Other Oils in Coconut Oil

There are many food adulteration tests that can examine the purity of coconut oils and the presence of other oils in coconut oils. The simplest one is mentioned right here.
  • ·        Take some coconut oil in a transparent glass and keep it in the refrigerator for half an hour.
  • ·        After 30 minutes, the coconut oil will solidify, if it is adulterated, the other oils added to it will remain as a separate layer.

Detect Sugar in Honey

Many people opt for food adulteration tests to detect the presence of a sugar solution in honey because honey provides various benefits when it's pure.
  • ·        Take a glass of water that’s transparent and add a drop of honey to it.
  • ·        If the honey is pure, it won’t disperse in water.
  • ·        In case it disperses, you can be sure that there is added sugar in the honey.

Detect Chalk Powder in Sugar

People who want to test the purity of sugar, jaggery or pithi sugar they are having can try this simplest one among food adulteration tests by doing the following.
  • ·        Take a glass of water that’s transparent and dissolve 10g of sugar, jaggery or pithi sugar.
  • ·        If the sample is adulterated, the adulteration will move towards the bottom of the glass.

Detect Extraneous Matter in Food Grains

There is hardly any person who doesn’t include any form of grain in his or her meals. If you are a fan of this healthy food too then you should know about easy food adulteration tests that let you know whether the grains have any dust, stone, straw, pebble, weed seeds, insects, damaged grain, rodent hair, and excreta or weevilled grain in it. The simplest test option is mentioned right here.

  • Take a bit of the grain on a glass plate and examine it visually.
  •  Do this every time you plan to cook a grain to ensure better health of you and your loved ones.


Do you know of more simple food adulteration tests? Which of these food adulteration tests will you try first? Let us know by commenting below!
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