Unmonitered Adulteration in Mumbai...

DOODH KA DOODH, PAANI KA PAANI

Check out these simple home tests to detect adulteration in foodstuff and spot duplicate products

(By the Food and Drug Administration, Maharashtra, in association with the Mumbai Grahak Panchayat) COMPILED BY DIPTI SONAWALA

ADULT-ERATE EDUCATION HOME TESTS TO DETECT ADULTERATION IN FOOD

BUTTER AND GHEE ADULTERANT: Hydrogenated vegetable (vanaspati) TEST: Dissolve 1 teaspoon of sugar in 10cc of hydrochrolic acid, mix it with 10cc of vanaspati added to a spoon of melted butter or ghee. Shake the mixture thoroughly for one minute.Then let it settle for 10 minutes. If vanaspati has been added to ghee or butter, the top layer of the mixture will turn red. HEALTH RISK: Harmless, but takes away purity.

RAWA ADULTERANT: Iron filings (which add to the weight) TEST: Pass a magnet through the rawa, the iron fillings will cling to the magnet immediately. HEALTH RISK: Causes stomach disorder like sawdust, though this is much more hazardous for health. Iron filings can also cause food poisoning, they stay in the stomach for a longer period.

CHILLI POWDER ADULTERANT: Sawdust and artificial colour TEST: Take a bowl of water. Sprinkle some chilli powder on the surface of the water. If sawdust has been added, wood shavings will float on the surface. If artificial colour has been added, it will stain the water red. HEALTH RISK: Sawdust creates stomach disorder.

SAFFRON ADULTERANT: Scented and coloured hair of maize TEST: This is an easy test. Pure saffron dissolves in water, while maize hair floats on the surface. HEALTH RISK: Harmless but takes away purity.

COFFEE ADULTERANT: Excess chicory TEST: Take a bowl of cold water. Sprinkle a teaspoon of coffee powder in the water. The coffee will float, while the chicory will sink. So you'll know exactly how much chicory has been added in every teaspoon of coffee. HEALTH RISK: Harmless but takes away purity.

CORIANDER POWDER ADULTERANT: Powdered horse dung or husk TEST: There's no test that can be conducted at home to check this one out. So the best way to avoid adulterated products is to buy whole dhaniya and powder it at home. HEALTH RISK: Causes nausea and abdominal pain.

MILK ADULTERANT: Water, urea, carbonate, starch, common salt, etc TEST: There are no easy tests which can be done at home to catch out these adulterants. Only a couple of simple measures can be followed. If the milk packet is not sealed in exactly a straight line, and is slanting, it means that the packet has been tampered with and the milk is likely to be adulterated.Also, check the date on the packet. If it's smudged or erased, the milk has been tampered with. HEALTH RISK: The excess presence of urea in milk can overburden the kidney as they overwork to remove urea contents from the body. Depending on the quality of the water used, a number of diseases can be caused.

COLD COPY TIPS TO SPOT DUPLICATE PRODUCTS

The one on the left is a duplicate
THUMS UP
The original Thums Up logo is red.A duplicate bottle has a blue logo. To find out whether your soft drink is an original product, always check for the FPO number on the crown on the bottle. If there's no FPO number, it means the product is a duplicate one.

The one on the left with light blue lettering is a duplicate COMBIFLAM
The printing on original combiflam strip is dark blue, while the printing on a duplicate strip is light blue in colour.
IODEX
The colour of the underside of the cap of an original Iodex bottle is always white, while in duplicate bottles, it's black.