Tips to Check Adulteration of Spices

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• 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.

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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

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• Red Chili Powder

• 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 bottom of the
  glass, and there will be a light streak of yellow
  in the water.
• And, if the powder leaves a strong yellow colour
  while settling, it is contaminated.

• Fill a transparent glass with water and a
  spoonful of Red Chili Powder in it.
• The pure chili powder will settle at the bottom
  of the glass while the sawdust will float at the
  top.
• Moreover, if there is an artificial colour in the
  powder, it will descend in colour streaks.

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• Black Pepper

• Asafoetida

• Ground about a gram of Asafoetida in powder and
  then add it to a glass full of water.
• Mix it thoroughly, and if there are no sediments
  remain at the bottom of the glass, the Hing is
  pure.
• And if there is any artificial colour in the
  powder, it will leave coloured streaks.

• In a glass filled with water, add a few
  peppercorns and let it sit undisturbed for 5
  minutes.
• The peppercorns settled at the bottom are Black
  Pepper, and the ones, which are floating at the
  surface, are papaya seeds.
• You can also distinguish light berries as they
  can easily break if you press the berries.

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• Salt

• 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.

• 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.

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• Cinnamon

• Cumin Seeds

• Rub the seeds vigorously in your palm with the
  fingers, and if your palm turns black, it
  indicates adulteration. If not it is genuine
  Cumin Seeds

• The cassia bark is comprised of several layers,
  while the Cinnamon stick is very thin and can be
  rolled easily.
• One can easily distinguish these two by closely
  observing.

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• 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