13 Home Kits to Detect Food Adulteration – Read Easy

Quick answer: Several home testing kits can screen foods for adulteration. Kits check milk for water, starch and urea, spices for colour, jaggery for sulphur, honey for syrup, and ghee, oils, curd, sweets and lentils. Each kit relies on a simple colour reaction, but only laboratory analysis can confirm a result and show how much was added.

know the basic techniques to detect food adulteration at your home and tests to detect it

Home Kit to Detect Food Adulteration

Turmeric Powder

Adulteration – Yellow Aniline Dyes

Test – Shake a little Turmeric powder (Suspended in Water) with a solution of Rectified spirit.

Observation & Inference – The solution turns yellow immediately.

Principle – The Yellow aniline dyes separate on adding rectified spirit.

          Harmful Effects – Carcinogenic.

Sweets, Juices, Jams

Adulteration – Non-permitted coal tar dye (Metanil Yellow).

Test – To the sample add hot water and to the separated colouring matter, adds a few drops of HCl.

Observation & Inference – Pinkish Red colour shows the presence of Metanil yellow.

Principle – On adding HCl, the structure of Metanil yellow gives a pink colour at low pH.

Harmful Effects – Metanil yellow is toxic and Carcinogenic.

Wheat & other food grains

Adulteration – Ergot (A Fungus containing a poisonous substance).

          Test –To the sample add common salt solution and shake.

Observation & Inference – The impurity ergot floats on top while the pure food grains settle at the bottom.

Principle – (-)

Harmful Effects – Poisonous

Black Pepper

Adulteration – Papaya Seeds.

Test – Smell Pepper, Examine with a magnifying lens.

Observation & Inference – Papaya seeds have a repulsive flavour; Examine with a magnifying lens.

Principle – (-)

          Harmful Effects – Stomach, Liver problems.

Adulteration – Rotten pepper and light berries.

Test – Add a little solution of Rectified spirit to the sample.

Observation & Inference – Rotten pepper, Papaya seeds and light berries float.

Principle – (-)

Harmful Effects – Stomach, Liver problems.

Chilli Powder

Adulteration – Brick Powder.

Test – Add water to the powder and shake.

          Observation & Inference – The brick powder settles down.

Principle – Due to the heaviness, brick powder settles down. The brick powder contains calcium salts which give brick red flame.

Harmful Effects – Stomach Problems.

Adulteration – Brick Powder.

Test – To a little powder add concentrated HCl introduce as paste into flame through the backside of a matchstick.

Observation & Inference – The brick red flame colour is due to the presence of calcium salts in brick powder.

Principle – Due to the heaviness, brick powder settles down. The brick powder contains calcium salts which give brick red flame.

Harmful Effects – Stomach Problems.

Adulteration – Artificial Colours.

Test – Sprinkle the chilli powder on a glass of water.

Observation & Inference –  Artificial colourants descend in coloured streaks.

Principle – (-)

Harmful Effects – Toxic.

Asafoetida

Adulteration – Foreign resins galbanum, Colophony resin.

Test – Powder a gram of Asafoetida and shake it with a solution of Rectified spirit. Filter the extract and to 5 mL of it, add the solution of FeCl₃.

Observation & Inference – Olive Green colour shows the presence of foreign resins.

Principle – Colophony is a resin obtained as a residue after the distillation of Turpentine oil. This forms a coloured complex when shaken with Rectified spirit and Ferric Chloride.

Harmful Effects – Allergy, Dysentery.

Test – Burn on a spoon (Like Camphor).

Observation & Inference –  Burns like camphor shows a pure sample.

Principle – Pure Asafoetida burns quickly like aromatic camphor.

Harmful Effects – (-)

Honey

Adulteration – Sugar plus Water.

Test – A cotton wick dipped in honey is burnt.

Observation & Inference – If adulterated with water, the honey will not burn or burn with a cracking sound.

Principle – Due to the presence of water, the wick does not burn or form a cracking sound.

Harmful Effects – (-)

Adulteration – Invert Sugar

Test – Add Resorcinol and HCl.

Observation & Inference – The red colour is obtained.

Principle – When honey is adulterated with invert sugar (Glucose and Fructose) on adding Resorcinol and HCl, red colour is obtained.

Harmful Effects – (-)

Cloves

Adulteration – Cloves from which volatile oil has been extracted.

          Test – Examine with a magnifying lens.

Observation & Inference – Can be identified by the small size and shrunken appearance. The adulterated cloves are less pungent.

Principle – (-)

Harmful Effects – (-)

Jaggery

Adulteration – Washing Soda.

Test – Add a few drops of a solution of HCl.

Observation & Inference – Effervescence shows the presence of washing soda.

Principle – Washing soda, a base reacts with hydrochloric acid and liberates CO₂ which gives effervescence.

Harmful Effects – Diarrhoea, Vomiting.

Adulteration – Chalk Powder.

Test – Dissolve a little sample in water in a test tube.

Observation & Inference – Chalk powder settles down.

Principle – (-)

Harmful Effects – (-)

Test – Add a few drops of a solution of concentrated HCl.

Observation & Inference – Effervescence indicates the presence of an adulterant.

Principle – Chalk powder contains carbonates of magnesium and calcium. These carbonates react with HCl and liberate CO₂ with effervescence.

CaCo₃ + 2HCl —> CaCl₂ + H₂O + CO₂

Harmful Effects – Liver Disorder.

Common Salt

Adulteration – Chalk Powder or White powdered stone.

Test – Dissolve a little sample in water.

Observation & Inference – The solution turns white indicating the presence of chalk and other impurities settle down.

Principle – Chalk powder contains carbonates of magnesium and calcium which are insoluble in water and hence the solution turns white.

Harmful Effects – Stomach Disorder.

Mustard Seeds

Adulteration – Argemone Seeds.

Test – Examine with a magnifying lens.

Observation & Inference – Mustard seeds have a smooth surface while the argemone seeds have a rough surface and are blacker in colour.

Principle – (-)

Harmful Effects – Oedema (Dropsy).

Silver Leaves

Adulteration – Aluminium Leaves.

Test – Burn the leaves in flame.

Observation & Inference – Pure silver leaves burn away completely leaving glistening balls while aluminium leaves are reduced to grey ash.

Principle – (-)

Harmful Effects – (-)

Supari

Adulteration – Colours and Saccharin.

Test – Add water to the sample.

Observation & Inference – Colour dissolves in water. Saccharin gives the characteristic sweet taste.

Principle – (-)

Harmful Effects – (-)

Check out for other posts on Home Kit to Detect Food Adulteration – Part 1

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