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Holi 2021: Tips to spot food adulteration at home

WION Web Team
New DelhiUpdated: Mar 29, 2021, 02:42 PM IST
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Festival of Holi is incomplete without Kesar Milk and Gujjiya (Indian sweet dumplings). Photograph:(Others)

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We bring to you some simple points listed out by the national food standards watchdog Food Safety and Standards Association of India (FSSAI) on how to spot adulteration in the commonest of ingredients, take a look!

Known as the festivals of colours, Holi is known for its delicacies as much as for the celebration. As most of us get into the last leg of the festive planning, let us not compromise on the quality of food that we bring home, cook with or offer others.

This Holi, it doesn't matter if you are planning to make those sumptuous gujiyas at home or are thinking to buy sweets from the nearest store; what does matter is to ensure that the raw material or the finished delicacy is pure pleasure without any trace of adulteration. For those who think that spotting adulteration is nothing short of rocket science, we bring to you some simple points listed out by the national food standards watchdog Food Safety and Standards Association of India (FSSAI) on how to spot adulteration in the commonest of ingredients, take a look!
 

Khoya, chenna and paneer
Boil the sample in water and add let it cool. Add two-three drops of tincture of iodine, if the sample turns blue in colour it is adulterated with starch. 

Honey
One of the most commonly found adulterants in a jar of honey is sugar; in case you want to test the authenticity and the purity of your honey, follow the following:

Take a transparent glass and fill it with water and drop a spoonful of honey into it. Pure honey will not disperse, if it does, it contains sugar. 

Sugar, pithi sugar, jaggery

It is easy to detect if the sugar or jaggery is adulterated with chalk powder. In a transparent glass pour water and dissolve sugar/jaggery sample, the adulterant matter will begin to settle down at the bottom.

Sweet curd

Add 10 drops of hydrochloric acid in one teaspoon of curd, mix well. If the mixture turns red, it indicates the presence of vanaspati in the curd.

Milk

Add ½ teaspoon of soybean or arhar powder to a teaspoon of milk, mix well and leave for 5 minutes. Dip a red litmus paper in it, remove after 30 seconds. If the litmus paper turns to blue it is indicative of the presence of urea in the milk sample.

Undeniably, food is intrinsic to life, something that no celebration or festivity can ever be devoid of. We bet you must be ready with jars full of snacks and traditional goodies like papadsgujjiyas and other delectable treats. This Holi, pay a little attention to what you bring home and serve at the table. 

Choose health, choose happiness! Happy Holi! 

(Inputs from Detect Adulteration With Rapid Test, FSSAI)