Efficient training of Food handlers and household people is essential with awareness for tracking adulteration and prevention of its harmful effects.
FSSAI has recently released DART [Detect Adulteration by Rapid Test] – a book that helps home testing of food products to detect adulteration.
Efficient training of Food handlers and household people is essential with awareness for tracking adulteration and prevention of its harmful effects.
4 Traditional Holi Sweets and Snacks That Could Be Adulterated: Planning to buy your Holi sweets anytime soon. Read this before you visit the next shop.
The common sweets you will find during the festival of Holi are Gujiyas, Malpuas, Thandai, Kheer and Kulfi! Let’s not forget Puran Polis – The sweet, delicious and round format of Happiness, laden with ghee! Nothing can replace these divine items; however, adulteration and contamination with cheaper ingredients and chemicals has found its way into the festive food market.
Paneer, Khoya, Mawa and milk are adulterated with starch to give that thick consistency to the sweets. Puran polis generally have equal parts of whole wheat and refined wheat flour; food businesses use cheap, stale refined wheat flour that can hamper the quality of the sweet.
Paneer, Khoya, Mawa and milk are adulterated with starch to give that thick consistency to the sweets. Puran polis generally have equal parts of whole wheat and refined wheat flour; food businesses use cheap, stale refined wheat flour that can hamper the quality of the sweet.
To check the presence of starch, one can add the questionable raw ingredient in water and few drops of iodine in it. If turned blue, the adulteration is confirmed.
The purchase of Puran Polis or its raw materials should be done from a retailer selling the packed goods with apt labelling and quality checks.
It is also not a surprise to find chemicals, artificial flavours and coloured fake ingredients in place of rich and costly spices, condiments and nuts. Hence, always purchase these ingredients from a certified retailer, or a branded, packaged product.
The latest to join the list of adulteration scams is that in jaggery. Sulphur Dioxide is used in the processing of jaggery – the black syrup is converted into the dark yellow hard mass. The more Sulphur Dioxide used, the brighter the colour. However, Food Safety Regulations does not permit more than 70 ppm of Sulphur Dioxide; in the festive times of Holi, this number increases to as high as 350 ppm – 1,500 ppm. This is detrimental to health of the consumers, which has become an easy means for certain Food Businesses to make quick bucks.
A testing report from NABL Accredited Laboratory seems a better option than simply guessing; however, at such short time, it becomes difficult to get the reports well before time to make amends. Also, there are traces of Metanil Yellow and Sodium Bicarbonate, which can be detected by Hydrochloric acid.
