Ghee Testing

1. One of the simplest measures is to heat a teaspoon of ghee in a vessel. If the ghee melts
immediately and turns dark brownish in colour, then it is of pure quality. However, if it
takes time to melt and turns light yellow in colour, it is best avoided.

2. Double-boiler method check

To check if the ghee contains traces of coconut oil, melt ghee in a glass jar using the double-

boiler method (flat-bottomed insert that fits over a pan of simmering water). Put this jar in the

fridge for sometime. If ghee and the coconut oil solidify in separate layers, then the ghee is

adulterated.

3. Iodine test

Add two drops of iodine solution to a small quantity of melted ghee. If the iodine turns purple in

colour, then it indicates that the ghee is mixed with starch and should be avoided.

4. Bottle test

Take a teaspoon of melted ghee in a transparent bottle and add a pinch of sugar to it. Close the container
and give it a vigorous shake. Let it stand for five minutes. If a red colour appears at the bottom of the
bottle, then the sample contains vegetable oil.

5. Take 3 spoon hydrochloric Acid + 2 spoon Sugar and mix well and add 3 spoon ghee and
shake well after 10 minutes If colour change (Red layer = Chemical mix, Or Vanaspati
ghee, Adulterated

6. Take half bowl ghee + Ether Solution And mix well and divide in two parts.
In one part Mix with Sodium hydroxide And shake it if colour change = Adulterated with colour
In Second part mix Acid solution and shake if colour red = Adulterated

7. Take 2 spoon ghee + 1 spoon hydrochloric acid +1 spoon sulfuric acid and mix well if
colour change Blue = Adulterated with chemical

8. Take an earthen lamp and put ghee on it and keep it for one night. If there is a white layer
left on the lamp then there is adulteration of vegetable ghee in the desi ghee.
 9. GHEE: Dalda
Chemical test: Take 3 ml of ghee in a test tube. Add 10 drops of hydrochloric acid
or muriatic acid, and 1/4th of a teaspoon of sugar. Shake the tube to mix up the
contents thoroughly. Examine the test tube after 5 minutes. The red colouration
will indicate the presence of dalda in the ghee.

Honey Testing

1. Chemical test:

SI. Test Observation Inference

1. Fieche’s test
Take about 3ml of honey + 2ml of ether and Transient pink Pur honey
shake thoroughly and allow the 2 layers colour
to separate and evaporate to dryness.
The upper ethereal layer is separated Adulterated
and put in a china dish and evaporate, to Permanent red honey(Inver
the residue add 1% resorcinol and HCl. colour t sugar)

2. Molisch’s Test Purple colour Presence of

Honey is treated with alpha Naphthol and carbohydrat
concentrated sulphuric acid e

3. Reducing Sugar Test

Heat honey to this add a drop of mixture of Brick red Presence of
Fehling’s solution A & B colour of monosacch
cuprous aride
oxide
The procedure of Fiehe’s Test:
The time needed: 15 minutes.

Supply:

Solvent ether, Resorcinol crystals, Hydrochloric acid

Tools:

Mortar, pestle, test tube, Petri dish

Procedure:

Fiehe’s test can detect adulteration of honey with invert sugar (Acid hydrolyzed sugar). It actually detects
the presence of HMF (Hydroxymethyl furfural) content in honey. Invert sugar has high HMF content
whereas, honey has lesser HMF content (around 10 mg/kg).

Some times even genuine honey has higher HMF when Honey is heated or stored for a long time.

● Step 1
Take 5ml of honey in a small mortar. Add 10ml of solvent ether. Mix the solution well
using a pestle.

● Step 2
Take a Petri dish and add the supernatant solution from the mortar. Allow it to dry in the
open air.
● Step 3
Take 5ml HCL (Hydrochloric acid) ina test tube. add 1 g of resorcinol crystals. shake it
well to dissolve.

● Step 4
Add a few drops of resorcinol HCl solution in the petri dish (This should be done once the
ether dries out completely)
● Step 5
Observe the colour in the petri dish.

Inference:
Positive result: Pink or cherry red colour indicates the presence of high HMF. This means honey has
either invert sugar adulteration.

Negative result: There is no change in colour to a yellowish pink colour. Negative Result indicates No
adulteration of common or Invert sugar.

Fssai Parameter for fiehe’s test :

Fiehe’s test should be negative
If Fiehe’s test is positive, and hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) content is more than 80

milligram/kilogram, then fructose: glucose ratio should be 1.0 or more.

Conclusion:
This test can detect only Invert sugar adulteration in honey. Other newer adulterants need higher tests.

Aniline Chloride test:

The procedure of Aniline Chloride Test:
Dissolve 3g aniline crystals in 10ml concentrated HCl. This reaction produces Aniline chloride.

Take a few drops of honey in a Petri dish, add 2-3 drops of aniline chloride solution.

Result: If the solution turns to orange colour, It indicates the presence of invert sugar.

No colour change result indicates pure honey.

Reliability: This test can only identify common sugar or invert sugar adulterations in honey. Latest
adulterants may skip this test.

Iodine test:(For the presence of starch)

The procedure of Iodine test: Take 5ml of honey and 5ml of water, make it homogenise by mixing it
well.

Prepare an Iodine solution by Adding 3g of potassium and 1g of Iodine in 50ml of water.

Add Iodine solution to the honey-water mixture.

Result: If the solution turns to purple or red colour it indicates the presence of starch in honey.

No colour change indicates pure honey.

Reliability: This test is only for the presence of starch. Not for other adulterants.

Conclusion:
These tests can identify the adulteration of honey with Invert sugar, for other adulterants like HFCS &
Rice syrup there are higher tests.

Aniline chloride test to check adulteration in honey

Aniline chloride test can detect the presence of common sugar in honey. Common sugar contains
Sucrose (A disaccharides) whereas honey contains simple sugars (Glucose & fructose). Aniline chloride
test can detect the presence of sucrose in honey.

1. Take honey
Take a porcelain dish, add 5ml of honey.
2. Prepare aniline chloride solution.
Add 3ml of aniline and 7ml of HCl in a test tube. stir it well.
3. Pour aniline chloride solution
Pour a few drops of aniline chloride solution in the porcelain dish & observe the colour.
Inference:

Positive: Orange-red colour indicates the presence of sucrose.

Negative: No colour change indicates the absence of sucrose or common sugar.

Conclusion:
This test can detect only the presence of common sugar in honey.

Flowing test: (Blot test) ❌

Procedure – Take a cloth or blotting paper and pour a few drops of honey over that cloth and made to
flow.

Inference – Honey is considered pure if it flows without wetting the cloth. Honey is considered fake if it
gets absorbed or leave a wet mark.

FACT of flowing test:

Flowing without leaving a wet mark does not prove it’s purity. It depends on the water or moisture present
in honey. All thick adulterant behaves in the same manner.

Therefore this is a misleading test.

Jaggery test
Points to remember after you have bought the jaggery:
● Most vendors add chalk powder in jaggery, hence, in order to check for its presence, all you
need to do is take a transparent bowl of water and dissolve a piece of jaggery in the water. You
will see the powder settling down in the water.
● There is a chance that artificial colour is used to give jaggery the right colour. Take half a
teaspoon of jaggery and add six millilitre of alcohol to it and mix well. Now add 20 drops of
concentrated hydrochloric acid. If the jaggery turns pink then it means that artificial colours
have been added to this lot.
How to detect chalk powder in jaggery
● Take a glass (transparent) of water.
● Now, dissolve 10 gram of the sample in water.
● If sample (sugar/pithi sugar/jaggery) is mixed with chalk, the adulterant will settle down at the
bottom.
● JAGGERY: Sodium Bicarbonate
Chemical test: Take 1/4th of a teaspoon of the jaggery in a test tube. Add 3 ml of
Muratic Acid. The presence of Sodium Carbonate effects effervescence.
● JAGGERY: Metanil Yellow Colour
Chemical test: Take 1/4th of a teaspoon of the jaggery in a test tube. Add 3 ml of
alcohol and shake the tube vigorously to mix up the contents. Pour 10 drops of
 Hydrochloric Acid in it. A pink colouration indicates the presence of Metanil Yellow
Colour in Jaggery.
● Sugar Solution : Add a drop of honey to a glass if water, if the drop does not disperse in
water it indicates that the honey is pure. However, if the drop disperses in water it indicates
presence of added sugar.
 Mustard Oil

● MUSTARD OIL: Argemone Oil

Chemical test: Take about 3 ml of the mustard oil in a test tube. Add 20 drops of nitric acid. For 3
minutes, heat the tube on the flame of a spirit lamp. A red colouration indicates the presence of
Argemone oil in the mustard oil.
● MUSTARD OIL: Cotton Seed Oil
Chemical test: Take about 3 ml of the mustard oil in a test tube. Add 2 ml of amyl alcohol in it
and 1 ml of carbon disulphide and a little amount of sulphur. Plug the mouth of the test tube and
heat it on the flame of a spirit lamp for 3 minutes. A red colouration indicates the presence of
cotton seed oil in the mustard oil.
● MUSTARD OIL: Mineral Oil
Chemical test: Take about 3 ml of the mustard oil in a test tube. Add 20 drops of alcoholic
potash. For 3 minutes, heat the test tube on the flame of a spirit lamp, to effect decolourisation of
the mixture. Shake the test tube after adding 10 drops of distilled water. Examine the Test tube to
trace the turbidity. Continue the activity of adding water upto 15 ml, and the examination of the
test tube for appearance of turbidity. The turbidity appearance indicates the presence of mineral
oil in the mustard oil.
● MUSTARD OIL: Castor Oil
Chemical test: Take about 3 ml of the mustard oil in a test tube. Add 2 ml of petroleum ether.
Shake the test tube and mix up the contents thoroughly. Keep the tube immersed in the salt-ice
mixture, or in a pot of cold saline water. Examine the test tube after 5 minutes. The appearance of
turbidity in the mixture indicates the presence of castor oil in the mustard oil. Similar test may also
be made to detect adulteration of mustard oil with coconut oil, or dalda (vanaspati).

Milk Test
● MILK: Sodium Bicarbonate
Chemical test: Take 3 ml of the milk in a test tube. Add 10 drops of rosalic acid solution. The rosy
colouration indicates the presence of sodium bicarbonate in the milk.
● MILK: Glucose
Take a teaspoonful of the milk in a test tube. Dip a strip of diastix in it for 30 seconds. A change
in colouration from blue to green, indicates the presence of glucose in the milk.
● MILK: Sugar
Chemical test: Take 3 ml of the milk in a test tube. Add 2 ml of hydrochloric acid or Muratic acid
in it. Heat the test tube after adding 50 mg of resorcinol. The red colouration indicates the use of
sugar in the milk. The detection may also be made by a different test. Take a teaspoonful of milk
in a test tube. Add 1 mg of invertase enzyme. After 5 minutes, dip a strip of diastix in it. Take out
the strip after 30 seconds. A change in colour from blue to green, indicates the use of sugar in the
milk.
● MILK: Cereal Starch
Chemical test: Take 3 ml of the milk in a test tube. Add 1 drop of 1% aqueous solution of iodine.
The blue of deep blue colouration indicates the presence of cereal starch in the milk.
● MILK: Urea
Chemical test: Take a teaspoonful of milk in a test tube. Add a ½ teaspoon of soyabean or arhar-
powder. Mix up the contents thoroughly by shaking the test tube. After 5 minutes, dip a red litmus
paper init. Remove the paper after half a minute. A change in colour from red to blue, indicates
the presence of urea in the milk.
 ● MILK: Boric Acid
Chemical test: Take 3 ml of milk in a test tube. Add 20 drops of hydrochloric acid and shake the
test tube to mix up the contents thoroughly. Dip a yellow paper-strip, and remove the same after 1
minute. A change in the colour from the yellow to red, followed by the change from the red to
green, by addition of ammonia-drop solution, indicates that the boric acid is present in the milk (to
prepare the yellow paper-strips, dip strips of filter paper in an aqueous solution of the turmeric,
and dry it up).
● MILK: Dalda
Chemical test: Take 3 ml of milk in a test tube. Add 10 drops of hydrochloric acid or Muratic acid.
Mix up one teaspoonful of sugar. After 5 minutes, examine the mixture. The red coloration
indicates the presence of dalda in the milk.

Red Chilli Powder

● RED CHILLI POWDER: Rhodamine B colour

Chemical test: Take 1/4th teaspoon of the red chilli powder in a test tube. Add 3 ml of distilled
water in it, and 10 drops of carbon tetrachloride. Vigorously shake the tube to mix up the
contents. The red colour will disappear as the result of the shake, and if the red colour reappears
with the addition of a drop of hydrochloric acid, the adulteration of Rhodamine B colour in the
chilli powder is positive.
● DRY RED CHILLI: Rhodamine B colour (adulterant)
Chemical test: Take a red chilly for the dry red chilly, and rub the outer surface with a piece of
cotton soaked in Liquid Paraffin. If the cotton becomes red, the sample is adulterated.

Brown Sugar

1. Chalk powder

Dissolve 10 gm of sample in a glass of water, allow settling, Chalk will settle down at the bottom.

2. Yellow colour (Non -permitted)

Take 5 ml in a tests tube from the above solution and add a few drops of conc. HCl. A pink colour in
lower acid layers shows the presence of non- permitted colour.

Khandsari powder
1. Washing soda

Add 1 ml of HCl to a little of bura sugar. Effervescence occurs if washing soda is present. Dissolve 2
gm of sugar in water; dip a red litmus paper in the solution. If washing soda is present, it will turn
blue.