Food adulteration, especially in wheat flour, can pose serious health risks, making it crucial to identify common adulterants. Here’s how you can test flour purity at home.
Food adulteration is a growing concern, and wheat flour is no exception. Contaminated flour can have serious health consequences. Earlier this year, 500 people in Delhi-NCR fell ill after consuming adulterated buckwheat flour.
In a more recent incident, authorities from the Food Safety and Drug Administration (FSDA) in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, made a shocking discovery during a raid. They uncovered over 400 kg of stone powder, identified as alabaster, mixed into flour packets.
Wheat flour, made from wheat grains, typically ranges from light brown to white in colour. Machine-ground flour is very fine and doesn’t include husk, while stone-ground flour is coarser, contains some husk, and has a nutty scent.
But what substances are used to adulterate wheat flour? The most common types of adulterants are:
- Maida or refined flour
- Sand and dirt
- Chalk powder
- Excess bran
- Cornflour or arrowroot powder
This brings us to the question: What does adulteration do to flour?
When flour is adulterated, it means harmful or low-quality substances are mixed in to cut costs or improve appearance. This can lower the flour’s nutritional value and be harmful to health. Common adulterants are chalk, talcum powder, sawdust, and dangerous chemicals like benzoyl peroxide.
Eating flour mixed with harmful substances can have serious health effects. Additives like chalk and talcum powder reduce the flour’s nutrition, and other harmful substances might cause digestive problems, respiratory issues, or long-term health complications if consumed regularly.
With the potential dangers of adulterated flour, it’s important to perform tests to identify any discrepancies.
How to Test Flour Purity at Home:
Lemon Test: Place a few drops of lemon juice on a small amount of flour. If bubbling occurs, it indicates the presence of chalk powder in the flour. Pure flour will not produce bubbles with lemon juice.
Water Test: Mix flour into a glass of water. If there are floating particles, the flour is likely adulterated with excess bran. Pure wheat flour will dissolve completely, leaving the water clear.
Taste Test: Taste a bit of raw flour. Adulterated flour usually tastes bitter due to added chemicals. Pure flour will not have this bitterness and will taste bland.
HCL Test: Prepare a mixture of flour and water, then add a few drops of Hydrochloric acid. Place a turmeric paper into the mixture. A red colour indicates the presence of boric acid, while pure flour will not alter the colour of the paper.
Edited by Pranita Bhat.
