Food adulteration can cause serious health risk for the family. But how to know if the commonly used every day products are adulterated. There are some common adulterants and contaminants that can be tested by all of us at home.

Right here we have compiled simple and easy tests for detecting adulterants.

How to detect addition of starch in milk and milk products like paneer, khoya or chenna?

How to test?

Pure                     Not Pure

1. Just take 2 – 3 ml of sample with 5 ml of water.
2. Boil them together.
3. Cool it down and add 2 – 3 drops of tincture of iodine.
4. If the colour turns blue, it indicates the presence of starch
5. Please note that in case of milk, boiling or addition of water is not required.

Ghee – How to detect the addition of mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes and other starches in ghee or butter

How to test?

Pure                     Not Pure

1. Take half teaspoon of ghee or butter in a transparent glass bowl.
2. Add 2 – 3 drops of tincture of iodine.
3. Formation of blue colour indicates presence of mashed potatoes and other starches.

How to detect adulterated coconut oil?

How to test?

Pure                     Not Pure

1. Take 50ml of coconut oil in a transparent glass.
2. Place the glass in refrigerator for 30 – 45 minutes (DO NOT put the glass in the freezer).
3. After refrigeration, coconut oil will solidify.
4. If the coconut oil is adulterated, the oil will form a separate layer on top of the solidified oil layer.

How to detect sugar solution in honey?

How to test – Method 1

1. Take a cotton wick dipped in honey.
2. Now light it with match stick.
3. Pure honey will burn.
4. If adulterated, the water content in honey will not allow it to burn. Even if it burns, it will produce a cracking sound.

Method 2

Pure                     Not Pure

1. Take a transparent glass of water.
2. Add few drops of honey to the glass.
3. Pure honey will not disperse in water.
4. If the drop disperses in water, it indicates the presence of added sugar.

Detecting water in milk

How to test?

Pure                     Not Pure

1. Just put a drop of milk on a polished slanting surface.
2. Pure milk either stays or flows slowly leaving a white trail behind.
3. When milk is mixed with water or is adulterated, it will flow immediately without leaving a mark.

How to detect detergent in milk?

How to test?

Pure                     Not Pure

1. Take 10 ml of milk and add equal parts of water.
2. Shake the mixture thoroughly.
3. When milk is adulterated with detergent, it will form a dense lather.
4. If it is pure milk, it will form a thin foam layer due to shaking.

How to detect chalk powder mixed in sugar, pithi sugar or jaggery?

How to test?

Pure                     Not Pure

1. Take a transparent glass of water.
2. Dissolve 10 – 15 gms of sample in water.
3. The adulterant will settle down at the bottom if sugar, pithi sugar or jaggery is mixed with chalk.

(Source: Fssai)