You can screen chilli, turmeric and coriander powder at home with FSSAI's DART water tests: chilli leaves colour streaks if a dye is added, turmeric leaves a strong yellow if it is coloured, and any powdered spice shows floating sawdust or bran. These catch only crude problems. A laboratory is needed to be sure.
By The MILLERS | Last updated 4 October 2026 | Home tests are indicative only
This guide covers the three powders people ask us about most: chilli, turmeric and coriander. Every test below is in DART (Detect Adulteration with Rapid Test), the household booklet from the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) [1]. We list the DART test number beside each one, and we say plainly where DART has no test, so you can read the booklet and check us.
What are chilli, turmeric and coriander powder adulterated with?
A 2023 review in Food Science and Nutrition lists the most common spice adulterants as brick powder, artificial colour, chalk powder, papaya seeds, horse manure and lead chromate [2]. They fall into two groups that need different tests.
Bulking agents are cheap solids added for weight, such as brick powder, sawdust, chalk or starch. Colouring agents make a dull or old spice look fresh. The same review lists artificial colours, brick powder and Sudan dye for chilli powder and lead chromate for turmeric, and links the dye to cancer [2]. Colour additives are harder to spot than grit.
How do I test chilli powder at home?
The water test for added colour (DART Test 24)
Sprinkle chilli powder on the surface of water in a clear glass. FSSAI says artificial colourants immediately start descending in colour streaks [1]. The streaks are the signal, so watch for coloured trails running down through the water, separate from the powder itself.
The water test for sawdust (DART Test 26)
Add a little chilli powder to water. FSSAI says sawdust floats at the surface while chilli powder settles to the bottom [1].
The feel test for brick powder, sand and soapstone (DART sensory table)
Put a teaspoon of chilli powder in a glass of water and look at the residue. FSSAI says that when the residue is rubbed, grittiness indicates brick powder or sand, and a soapy, smooth feel when the white residue is rubbed indicates soapstone [1].
How do I test turmeric powder at home?
The water test for artificial colour in powder (DART Test 34)
Add a teaspoon of turmeric powder to a glass of water. FSSAI says natural turmeric powder leaves a light yellow colour while settling, and adulterated powder leaves a strong yellow colour [1].
The water test for lead chromate in whole turmeric (DART Test 33)
Put a small quantity of whole turmeric in a glass of water. FSSAI says pure turmeric will not leave any colour, while adulterated turmeric looks bright and leaves colour in the water immediately [1]. This test matters because a 2026 study of 503 turmeric samples from eastern India found lead chromate was mainly added to the roots during polishing, not during grinding [3]. In that study, 30% of samples exceeded India's lead limit of 10 micrograms per gram [3].
What DART does not include for turmeric
Acid tests for metanil yellow and iodine tests for starch are widely shared online, but the DART edition we read has neither for turmeric. Its only iodine tests are for milk, ghee and asafoetida [1]. A scoping review found metanil yellow in 150 of 947 commercial Indian turmeric samples tested (15.8%), and a lab is the dependable way to find it [4]. Our full guide to checking if turmeric powder is pure at home covers what lead chromate and metanil yellow are and what each result means.
How do I test coriander powder at home?
The float test for sawdust and bran (DART Test 35)
DART has no coriander-specific test, but its Test 35 covers powdered spices in general. Sprinkle the powder on the surface of water. FSSAI says pure spices leave no sawdust or powdered bran on the surface, while adulterated spices leave sawdust or bran floating [1].
The 2023 review also lists horse manure among common spice adulterants [2], but DART has no test for it. It says excess starch in powdered spices such as coriander, cumin and chilli is found by microscopy [2]. See our guide to checking if coriander powder is pure at home for the Indian Standard's requirements and a look-and-smell check. For whole peppercorns, there is a separate DART test for papaya seeds: how to check if black pepper is pure.
What can these tests not tell you?
These tests are indicative, not conclusive. FSSAI states that the booklet's aim is to create awareness among consumers about detecting adulteration, and not for any other purpose [1].
- A water test shows crude, high-dose problems. A light dose of dye or lead does not visibly change the water.
- A glass of water cannot measure pesticide residue, aflatoxin or heavy metals. Only a laboratory can.
- No home test finds spice that is simply old or stale. Smell helps a little: flat powder has lost its aroma.
We publish third-party test reports on our lab reports page. Our Kashmiri chilli page says its published report screens 221 pesticide residues, which is a different thing from an added-dye panel, and our guide to reading a spice lab report shows what each kind of test covers. The page does not yet list a turmeric report. If a brand will not show you any report at all, the kitchen tests above are all you have.
Is buying whole spice safer than powder?
Whole spice is easier to inspect by eye, but it is not automatically safe. DART's checks for whole turmeric and for papaya seeds in black pepper are tests on spice that has not been ground [1], and the 2026 study found lead chromate on polished turmeric roots [3].
What milling in front of you does give is visibility: you pick the whole spice, you watch it go into the mill and you take the powder home the same day. Our Hyderabad stores mill their own spices at the counter, and you are welcome to watch before you buy anything.
What we sell
- Premium Kashmiri Chilli Powder: milled to order from whole pods. Its product page lists one ingredient and no added colour.
- Lakadong Turmeric Powder: single-origin turmeric from Meghalaya, milled to order. Remember that we do not yet publish a turmeric lab report.
- Brown Coriander Powder: whole seed ground to order, with no husk bulking added according to its product page.
Run the water tests above on ours next to your usual packet.
Buying saffron too? It fails differently from chilli, turmeric or coriander. See our guide on saffron purity: 5 home tests that actually work.
Bought the real thing and want it to stay that way? See how long ground chilli, turmeric and coriander actually stay fresh once milled, with a sourced shelf-life table, in how long do ground spices stay fresh.
Curious about the chemistry behind "milled to order tastes stronger"? Read why freshly milled spices smell stronger, on the volatile oils that fade once a spice is ground.
Cinnamon has its own version of this problem: most "cinnamon" sold in India is cassia, a different spice. See Ceylon cinnamon vs cassia: how to tell them apart at home.
Sources
- FSSAI. DART: Detect Adulteration with Rapid Test (household test booklet; tests 24, 26, 33, 34 and 35, sensory evaluation table and scope note). fssai.gov.in
- Selected food items adulteration, their impacts on public health, and detection methods: A review. Food Science and Nutrition, 2023. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10724644
- Forsyth J. E. et al. Systemic drivers of toxic food adulteration: lead chromate in turmeric across eastern India. npj Science of Food, 2026. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC13357593
- A scoping review of turmeric adulteration based on data from six continents. Pharmaceutical Biology, 2026. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12777824
Home tests are indicative only; a laboratory test is needed for a definitive result.