• The food contamination incidents are rising rapidly since the year
2018, and due to the ongoing pandemic, it is skyrocketing. • The scale of food fraud is estimated to around 50 billion a year
worldwide. In the spice market, many merchants add foreign substances into the ground spices to increase the quantity of the spices. • The most common substance found in the spices are the artificial
colours and sawdust, which can increase the quantity while blending into the spices swiftly, making it almost impossible to differentiate.
Here are a few handy tips to check the adulteration in the spices:
Here are a few handy tips to check the adulteration in the spices:
Red Chili Powder • Fill a transparent glass with water
and a spoonful of Red Chili Powder in it. • The pure chili powder will settle at
Turmeric Powder • Add 1 tbsp. of Turmeric Powder/
Haldi Powder in a glass filled with water and let it sit undisturbed for 10 minutes. • The pure powder will settle at the
the bottom of the glass while the
bottom of the glass, and there will
sawdust will float at the top.
be a light streak of yellow in the
• Moreover, if there is an artificial
colour in the powder, it will descend in colour streaks.
water. • And, if the powder leaves a strong
yellow colour while settling, it is contaminated.
Black Pepper • In a glass filled with water, add a few
Asafoetida • Ground about a gram of
peppercorns and let it sit undisturbed
Asafoetida in powder and then
for 5 minutes.
add it to a glass full of water.
• The peppercorns settled at the bottom
• Mix it thoroughly, and if there
are Black Pepper, and the ones,
are no sediments remain at the
which are floating at the surface, are
bottom of the glass, the Hing is
papaya seeds. • You can also distinguish light berries
as they can easily break if you press the berries.
pure. • And if there is any artificial
colour in the powder, it will leave coloured streaks.
Salt • Stir about a spoonful of Salt in the
water. • If the solution is clear, the salt does
not have any impurities. • And, if the mixture is milky in colour
and the residue settles at the bottom, then salt is contaminated with chalk powder.
Mustard Seeds • You can easily distinguish
Argemone seeds from Mustard Seeds by visually examine them. • Mustard seeds have a smooth
surface, and the core is yellow. • While the Argemone seeds
have a wrinkled and grainy surface, and their core is white.
Cinnamon • The cassia bark is comprised of
Cumin Seeds • Rub the seeds vigorously in
several layers, while the
your palm with the fingers,
Cinnamon stick is very thin
and if your palm turns black,
and can be rolled easily.
it indicates adulteration. If
• One can easily distinguish
these two by closely observing.
not it is genuine Cumin Seeds
The spices which are fresh and contamination-free not only gives aromatic zest and flavour to the dish but also provides numerous health benefits. Our Vasant Masala spices are fresh and 100% authentic. You can buy these Indian Spices online from our website and you can also buy them from e-commerce websites like Flipkart and Amazon. For more details visit: