By Admin 
Sweets and dry fruits have special importance in homes during festivals. People buy dry fruits like cashews, almonds, raisins, pistachios to gift to their family and friends. It is true that dry fruits are considered more healthy and nutritious than sweets. But have you ever thought that these dry fruits available in the market are not always pure and safe. Many times adulteration and chemicals are used in dry fruits. Some shopkeepers use tricks like acid washing or color coating to make old or spoiled dry fruits look fresh and attractive again.
Many times hydrochloric acid (HCl) is used to make old cashews look white and shiny. Artificial color is added to make raisins golden. Such dry fruits are not only not real, but can also be harmful for health. In such a situation, today let us tell you how you can identify fake dry fruits if you have not bought them from the market.
How can we identify real and fake?
1. Avoid broken dry fruits – If you buy very cheap or broken dry fruits from the market, then be careful. Often such dry fruits are old or have been repackaged. Chemicals can be used to make them look shiny and attractive. Therefore, always buy whole, light colored and natural looking dry fruits.
2. Litmus Paper Test – At home you can check the purity of cashew nuts or almonds with litmus paper test. Its method is very easy. For this, first of all put a few drops of water on a cashew. Now place litmus paper on it. If the color of the paper turns red or orange, it means that acid has been used in the dry fruit. If there is no change in color, then the dry fruit is pure. This is a small but very effective method, by which you can identify adulteration yourself at home.
3. Identify by aroma and texture – The aroma and texture of dry fruits is also an easy way to identify adulteration. The fragrance of real dry fruits is light and natural. Fake or washed dry fruits have a strong acidic or chemical smell. There is a difference in the texture also. Real dry fruits are soft and refreshing.
4. Look at the color of raisins – Raisins are often made attractive by adding artificial colors to them. If the raisins look very shiny and of uniform color, then it may be adulterated. The color of real raisins is light brown or yellow and uneven.
Disadvantages of eating adulterated dry fruits
If you continuously eat adulterated dry fruits, it can have a serious impact on your health. Acid washed dry fruits can increase stomach irritation, acidity and gas problems. Colors and preservatives can cause allergies, itching or rashes on the skin. Eating such dry fruits for a long time can cause accumulation of toxins in the body, which affects the liver and kidneys.
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