Ghee Adulteration

Ghee adulteration

Ghee is clarified butter which people use for day to day cooking – for making sweets, medicines, offerings etc. Even ghee is no exception  for adulteration.

How do you find out?

Vanaspathi & margarine: Take 2 ml of melted ghee and slowly from inside of the test tube add 2 ml of conc. Hydrochloric acid. Add pinch of sugar. Shake and keep it for few minutes. A crimson color at the bottom of the mix indicates vanaspathi or margarine is mixed with ghee!

Potato, starch : Add few drops of iodine to melted ghee. If any of potato or other starch materials mixed with ghee, the mix will turn to blue.

Vegetable oil mixing: Ghee is an animal fat with cholesterol and all other oils that are plant based contains sterols. The Baoudoin test helps to detect oil mixing in ghee. Add few drops of **Hydrochloric acid and freshly distilled 2% furfural in 95% ethyl alcohol. The development of pink color in the mix indicates presence of sesame oil.

** Be careful while handling Hydrochloric acid as it is dangerous. You can take milk sample to local colleges and labs seeking their help for this test.

Image: http://archive.thedailystar.net/


Author: Sumana Rao | Posted on: December 15, 2015

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