How to Check Fake Khoya and Mithai: 5 FSSAI Checks Before
Out of 30 samples picked up from Delhi's Mori Gate Khoya Mandi ahead of the festive season, 22 were found unsafe to eat. Food safety teams also seized and destroyed over 4,100 kg of adulterated khoya, chhena and analogue paneer in a month-long drive across the city (PTI via ThePrint, 23 September 2026).
So if you are wondering how to check fake khoya and mithai before Navratri and Diwali, here is the short answer. You do not need a lab. Five quick checks cover the main things to look for:
- Look, smell and feel the khoya. Good khoya smells like boiled milk and has a soft, even, grainy texture.
- Crush the chandi ka varq. Real silver leaf crumbles to powder. Aluminium foil only tears into shreds.
- Check the ghee for starch. A few drops of iodine on ghee should not turn it blue.
- Read the tray. Loose mithai must show a "best before" date.
- Match the sweet to its shelf life. A khoya barfi is not meant to sit on the counter for a week.
Each of these comes from FSSAI's own consumer guidance. Here is how to do them properly.
How do you check fake khoya at home?
Start with your senses, because FSSAI does too. Its guidance note on traditional milk products describes what good khoya should be like:
- Flavour: a mildly cooked flavour, similar to boiled milk.
- Texture: a soft, uniform body with a granular texture. Pindi khoa is the exception: it is smooth and compact, with very fine grains.
- Colour: cow milk khoya is pale yellow with a hint of brown and a moist surface. Buffalo milk khoya is white with a hint of brown and a slightly oily surface.
Beyond FSSAI's list, plain common sense applies: if khoya smells sour or tastes bitter, don't buy it.
Starch is one of the fillers FSSAI tells you to test for. FSSAI's starch test (boil a little khoya in water, cool it, add iodine, and watch for blue) works the same way it does for paneer. We covered it step by step in our analogue paneer guide, so we won't repeat it here.
One honest limit: a negative starch test does not prove the khoya is pure. Vegetable fat or milk powder won't show up in the iodine test, which only picks up starch. That is why the buying checks further down matter just as much.
How can you tell if chandi ka varq is real silver?
That shiny layer on your kaju katli is meant to be pure silver. FSSAI standards require food-grade silver leaf to be of at least 999/1000 purity, and FSSAI has also directed states to ensure silver leaf is not made with animal-origin material (FSSAI). The cheaper swap is aluminium foil.
FSSAI's DART home-test guide gives a two-step check:
- Crush test: pick off a little of the leaf and rub it between two fingers. Pure silver crumbles into powder. Aluminium only breaks into small shreds.
- Flame test: roll a bit of the leaf into a small ball and hold it to a flame. Pure silver burns away and leaves small shiny balls. Aluminium turns into grey ash.
Do the flame test with tongs over a steel plate. And if the varq looks dull, thick or crinkled like kitchen foil, you probably have your answer before you strike a match.
Is the ghee in your mithai real?
Ghee is the most expensive ingredient in most sweets, so it is a natural place to cut corners. You have two practical checks.
At home, for ghee you buy: put half a teaspoon of ghee in a clear glass bowl and add two or three drops of tincture of iodine. A blue colour means mashed potato, sweet potato or another starch has been mixed in (FSSAI DART). Good ghee, when melted, should be clear and free of sediment. FSSAI describes cow ghee as bright yellow and buffalo ghee as white with a greenish tinge (FSSAI guidance note).
At the shop, for mithai: ask what it is fried or made in. FSSAI's guidance asks sweet shops to state on the tray or notice board whether they used oil, ghee or vanaspati. "Desi ghee" on the box and vanaspati in the kadhai is exactly what that rule is meant to catch.
The same guidance note lists tests for vanaspati and coal tar dyes, but they need hydrochloric or sulphuric acid. Leave those to a lab. Your kitchen is not the place for concentrated acid.
What should you check at the sweet shop before buying mithai?
FSSAI's advice to consumers is blunt: the chance of adulteration goes up with loose products. Use this checklist:
| Check | What to look for | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Best before date | Shown on the tray or container of loose sweets | Mandatory for loose sweets since 1 October 2020 (Business Today) |
| Packed sweets label | Ingredients, date of manufacture, best before or use by date | Required on pre-packaged milk products (FSSAI) |
| FSSAI licence | Licence or registration displayed at the shop | You can look the number up on FSSAI's FoSCoS portal |
| Ghee, oil or vanaspati | A board or tray label saying which fat was used | Tells you whether "ghee sweets" really are |
| Colour | A licensed shop and a proper label, not the shade itself | The problem is non-permitted colours, which you cannot spot by eye |
| Burnt bits | None on peda, barfi or kalakand | FSSAI lists absence of burnt particles as a quality marker |
On colour, don't judge by shade. FSSAI's own shelf-life list includes pink burfi and lal ladoo, so a coloured sweet is not automatically suspect. The issue FSSAI flags is non-permitted colours, and those cannot be told apart by eye. Trust a licensed shop and a proper label over the look of the tray.
A licence is the minimum, not a guarantee. Maharashtra's recent FDA crackdown shows that even well-known names can fail basic hygiene checks.
How long do Indian sweets stay fresh?
Even honest mithai becomes unsafe if it is kept too long. FSSAI notes that sweets made with milk products have a shorter shelf life of 1 to 4 days and are more prone to microbial growth. Its indicative shelf-life list looks like this:
| Shelf life | Examples | Storage |
|---|---|---|
| Same day | Kalakand and its variants | Room temperature, eat the same day |
| 2 days | Rasgulla, ras malai, sandesh, cham cham | Refrigerator |
| 4 days | Milk cake, peda, plain and milk barfi, boondi laddoo | Eat within 4 days of making |
| 7 days | Kaju katli, besan barfi, dry fruit laddoo | Eat within 7 days of making |
| Around 30 days | Besan laddoo, chikki, gajak, sohan halwa | Eat within 30 days of making |
Keep this table in mind during Diwali gifting. A box of rasgulla that sits in a warm car for a day of visits is not the same box by evening. If you are buying ahead, choose the long-life sweets and buy the khoya and chhena ones fresh.
Fasting this Navratri? Our guide to the Navratri fasting trap covers the other festive food-safety check: kuttu atta.
Frequently asked questions
How can I identify fake mawa?
Check the smell, texture and colour first. Good mawa smells like boiled milk, feels soft and grainy, and is pale yellow to white with a hint of brown. A boil-and-iodine test turning blue points to added starch. A clean result does not rule out vegetable fat, so buy from a licensed shop as well.
How do I check if silver varq is real or aluminium?
Rub a small piece between your fingers. Real silver crumbles into powder, while aluminium tears into shreds. When burnt, real silver leaves tiny shiny balls and aluminium leaves grey ash.
Do sweet shops have to show an expiry date on loose mithai?
Yes. Since 1 October 2020, FSSAI has required the tray or container of loose sweets to display a "best before" date. The date of manufacture is optional for loose sweets.
Which Indian sweets last the longest?
According to FSSAI's indicative list, sweets like besan laddoo, chana barfi, chikki, gajak and sohan halwa can last around 30 days. Kaju katli and besan barfi last about 7 days. Kalakand should be eaten the same day.
If you are putting out a festive spread for guests, a chilled bottle of Amaayu water sits nicely next to the mithai plate.
This article is general information, not medical advice.