Are you buying Flour laced with poisonous Adulterants?

In today’s date, there are so many brands in Assam selling packaged food that it becomes too difficult to identify the genuine Flour Brand. It is absolutely necessary to ensure that you buy Flour from a trusted source as what you cook depends on the ingredients used. Especially, when there are so many adulterants added to different food sources, some of them poisonous even, that you might end up feeling a need to produce every flour on your own to get your SHUDH AHAR. This is where this article comes from to help you.

First let me shed a little light on the various adulterants found in everyday used Flours.

BESAN/GRAM FLOUR – There are several common adulterants that are found in gram flour (also known as besan or chickpea flour). Some of these include:

• Starches: Some manufacturers may add starches such as corn starch or potato starch to gram flour in order to increase its volume and reduce the cost of production.
• Groundnuts: Some manufacturers may mix groundnuts with gram flour in order to increase its protein content.
• Yellow food color: Some manufacturers may add yellow food color to gram flour in order to make it appear more visually appealing. Metanil yellow: A banned synthetic food color is used to give gram flour a yellow color, this could be dangerous for health when consumed.

RICE FLOUR – There are several common adulterants that are found in rice flour. Some of these include:

• Starches: Some manufacturers may add starches such as corn starch or potato starch to rice flour in order to increase its volume and reduce the cost of production.
• Broken rice: Some manufacturers may mix broken rice with rice flour in order to reduce the cost of production.
• Glutinous rice flour: Some manufacturers may mix glutinous rice flour with regular rice flour in order to give the flour a sticky texture and to increase its volume.
• Spurious husk and dust: Some manufacturers may mix husk, dust and other impurities with rice flour to increase the weight of the flour.

It is important to note that these adulterants can be harmful to health and can cause allergic reactions in some individuals. It is always best to purchase rice flour from a reputable source and to check the ingredient list before purchasing.

WHEAT FLOUR – there are several common adulterants that are found in wheat flour. Some of these include:

• Other grains: Some manufacturers may add other grains, such as barley, rye, or oats, to wheat flour in order to increase its volume and reduce the cost of production.
• Chemical bleaching agents: Some manufacturers may use chemical bleaching agents, such as chlorine or benzoyl peroxide, to lighten the color of the flour and improve its appearance.
• Improvers: Some manufacturers may add chemical improvers, such as ascorbic acid, to wheat flour in order to improve its baking properties.
• Aflatoxins: It is a naturally occurring mycotoxins, produced by Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus, that can be found in wheat and other grains. High levels of aflatoxins can be dangerous to human health.

SEMOLINA – Adulteration of semolina refers to the addition of other, less expensive ingredients to the semolina in order to increase the quantity and reduce the cost of the product. Some common adulterants found in semolina include:

1. Starch: Corn starch, potato starch, tapioca starch and other types of starches are often added to semolina to increase the quantity of the product.
2. Gluten: Gluten, a protein found in wheat, barley, and rye is often added to semolina to increase its protein content.
3. Powdered sugar: Powdered sugar is sometimes added to semolina to make it sweeter and more attractive to consumers.
4. Artificial color: Artificial color is sometimes added to semolina to make it more visually appealing.
5. Finely Ground Wheat Flour: Finely ground wheat flour is sometimes added to semolina to increase the quantity of the product.

MAIDA – Like semolina, it can also be subject to adulteration with other ingredients in order to increase the quantity and reduce the cost of the product. Some common adulterants found in refined wheat flour include:

1. Starch: Corn starch, potato starch, tapioca starch and other types of starches are often added to refined wheat flour to increase the quantity of the product.
2. Gluten: Gluten, a protein found in wheat, barley, and rye, is sometimes added to refined wheat flour to increase its protein content.
3. Powdered sugar: Powdered sugar is sometimes added to refined wheat flour to make it sweeter and more attractive to consumers.
4. Artificial color: Artificial color is sometimes added to refined wheat flour to make it more visually appealing.
5. Deoxidizers: Some flour mills add chemicals like chlorine and potassium bromate to refined flour as a deoxidizing agent, which can increase the flour’s strength, but also have negative health effects.

Now that you know that everyday used Flours could be mixed with harmful substances, it is imperative that you take measures to ensure that you don’t end up in the receiving end of these products. There are two ways to get pure flour products – either take the whole grains and ground that on your own are get it grounded from a nearby miller who you can trust. Secondly, find Flour from brands which you have utmost confidence in like I trust in HR Products based in Assam for my Flour requirements.

Lastly, there are certain methods to test for specific adulterants in different kinds of flour. Different types of adulterants can be tested for in the following manner.

Hope, this article helped you in making better choices when it comes to different kind of flours. For any queries feel free to ask questions in the comments below.