Testing for Spice Adulteration

Food adulteration is the act of intentionally degrading the quality of food by adding or replacing food substances with undeclared alternative components, or by removing certain valuable components. The adulterant can exist in any form and in any quantity. Even if the adulterant is not dangerous, it considerably reduces the nutritional value of the food.

Ground spices may be laced with artificial colours, starch, chalk powder, etc. to increase their weight and enhance their appearance. High-value ground spices are frequently adulterated for economic reasons. However, this can lead to serious public health risks. Prolonged consumption of adulterated spices can lead to gastric disorders, cancer, vomiting, diarrhoea, ulcers, liver disorders, skin disorders, neurotoxicity, etc. 

Two common spices that can be easily adulterated:

Turmeric:

Turmeric and its active ingredient, curcumin, contain bioactive compounds with medicinal properties. It is a natural anti-inflammatory compound that can help prevent cancer. Curcumin has beneficial effects on depression, may reduce the risk of heart disease and may help delay ageing and combat chronic age-related diseases and arthritis, with patients responding well to curcumin supplements.

The main adulterants of turmeric are metanil yellow (unauthorised food dye, neurotoxic and hepatotoxic), lead chromate, Acid Orange 7 (used for dying wood), Sudan Red (used to colour fats, oils, waxes and in turpentine-based varnishes). Adulterants of commercial turmeric are starch, chalk and yellow soapstone. Synthetic turmeric is also an adulterant of natural curcumin.

The most common health effects and corresponding adulterants are:

• Gastric disorders with tapioca starch
• Carcinogenic and toxic effects with metanil yellow
• Indigestion with chalk
• Cancer risks with aniline dye and yellow lead salts

Chili Powder:

Apart from spicing up food, red chilies are also used in Ayurvedic medicine to combat many diseases. Chilies are an excellent source of vitamins A, B, C and E and minerals such as molybdenum, manganese, folic acid, potassium, thiamine and copper. They contain seven times more vitamin C than oranges. Red chili powder effectively increases the secretion of gastric juices, improves digestion and relieves problems such as constipation and gas. It eliminates harmful bacteria from the stomach, digestive tract and intestine, keeping them healthy. It also reduces inflammation and pain, is good for the heart and helps with weight loss.

The main adulterants in chili powder are brick powder, sawdust, sand, soapstone, water-soluble coal tar dyes, red soluble dust and Sudan dye. Another dangerous adulterant that can be added to red chili powder is a chemical called rhodamine B, which is widely used for industrial purposes, such as printing and dyeing of textiles, paper, paints, leather, etc. 

Rhodamine B is a by-product of the chilli oil extraction process. It is toxic and harmful to humans. When mixed with oil and dried, it forms a mixture that looks exactly like red chilies powder.

The most common health effects and corresponding adulterants are

• Digestive disorders with brick
• Poisoning with lead soluble dust
• Cancer risks with Rhodamine B and Sudan dye
• Liver tumours and diseases with soluble tar oil

Importance of testing by Wimpey Laboratories:

Wimpey Laboratories, part of the Cotecna Group, believes that health should always take precedence over commercial gain and offers various types of analysis and testing to verify the quality of spices:

• Adulteration cannot be identified by the naked eye or by the senses, so Wimpey Laboratories' analytical capabilities can identify when this is the case.
• We have highly trained researchers, clinical scientists using high-tech instruments and modern technology.
• The studies help to raise awareness of the challenge of adulteration. We believe it is our moral, social and professional responsibility to help curb this industry by providing accurate results. 

The laboratory offers the following tests for adulterants in spices:

A) Turmeric: Aroma test, colour test, palm test, water test, metanil yellow test, chalk powder test, starch test, aniline dye test, TLC analysis of curcumin, FT-IR spectroscopy, high performance liquid chromatography, LCMS/MS.

B) Chilli powder: Presence of red lead salts, presence of oil soluble coal tar, presence of brick powder, presence of rhodamine B, identification of volatile organic compounds generated from healthy and infected chillies using solventless solid injection coupled with GC/MS, FT-IR analysis, determination of metanil yellow, sudan red and rhodamine B by HPLC.

For more information, do not hesitate to contact us.