Here are some simple tests to detect adulteration in everyday foods

The recent raids on hotels and food production units by the Food Safety department in Hyderabad and other places in Telangana also reveal the sad state of food business in the state.

From mangos to milk, Hyderabadis are at a risk each time they buy something out and put it in their mouths.

Many people eat paneer on a regular basis without knowing if that is pure, follow these steps to identify.

Taste and texture- The easy and simple test that you can do is to feel the texture and taste of the panner, real panner is soft and crumbles easily when you press it and it tastes milky, while the fake on is often rubbery and does not have the milkyness taste to it.

Iodine test: Take a boiling piece of paneer and add a pinch of Iodine Tincture, if the colour is unchanged it is pure otherwise you can throw it away.

Simple test: Boil your panner and let it cool down, then add a spoonful of tur dal, if the colour changes to red it indicates an adulteration with urea otherwise its safe to consume.

The Government of India under its eat right movement has mentioned a few at home tests to detect adulterated foods including milk and they have prescribed the following tests.

Take 5 to 10 ml of milk and equal amount of water in a counter and shake them with force. If it's adulterated it will form a thick and dense layer of foam while the real milk only forms a mild layer.

Fraudsters adulterate sugar with chalk powder and this is how you can test it.

Take a transparent glass of water and add 10 grams of sugar and wait till it dissolves completely. If the sample is fake then the water will turn white and the sugar will settle at the bottom. The pure one will give you pale yellow coloured water and the sugar completely dissolves.

Take a glass of water in a transparent container and add the chilli powder. if it settles down at the bottom it's pure and if the sample floats it is fake and adulterated with saw dust. If the sample has artificial colours then it will release the colour as soon as you put the sample in the water whereas the real one won't leave any colour and slowly settles down at the bottom.

The same test can be done for turmeric and it makes the water turn into a light yellow colour if its natural and a strong colour if it's artificial.

To know more tests on adulterated food people can visit the eat right India website.