By: Toshita Sahni
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Is your readymade chilli powder fully safe to consume? This common ingredient can be adulterated with various substances to increase weight, enhance colour or reduce production costs.
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Red chilli powder may be mixed with brick powder, chalk powder, salt powder, artificial red dyes, starch/flour, sawdust, ground husk, oil-soluble dyes, etc.
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Here are 5 different ways to check if your store-bought red chilli powder is possibly adulterated or not. These tests can be easily conducted at home.
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Add a teaspoon of chilli powder to a glass of water. If it's artificially coloured, the water will change its colour and the red streaks will remain even after some time.
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Unadulterated chilli powder will gradually settle. It will not dissolve fully and it will not leave any colour streaks in the water.
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Rub some chilli powder across your palm. A bright red stain can mean artificial colours have been added. If unadulterated, it should only leave a mild stain.
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Chilli powder can be adulterated with brick powder or other similar contaminants which may not be the same as artificial colours. Add the chilli powder to a glass of water.
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It should start sinking slowly. If it settles quickly to the bottom, that's not natural. Anything that remains floating on the surface could also be problematic.
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Add a teaspoon of chilli powder to a glass of water. Once it settles, rub that residue on your palm and pay attention to the texture.
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If you find it to be unusually rough or gritty, it could indicate the presence of brick powder. If it feels soapy, it could mean it's adulterated with soapstone.
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There's another way to check for brick powder adulteration. Rub chilli powder on a smooth surface like the outer bottom of an empty glass.
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If you detect a gritty texture, it may indicate that brick powder or sand has been mixed with your red chilli powder.
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For other food adulteration tests you can conduct at home
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