All it takes is a visit to a nearby pharmacy to buy a bottle of 1 per cent iodine solution to become part of the new (rather viral) police department: Paneer Police. Oh, don’t forget to pick up a dropper while you’re at it. Voila! You’re now eligible to conduct raids at restaurants and roadside stalls to determine whether the paneer they’re using is real or fake.
At least, that’s what a bevy of social media influencers have been doing for quite a while (and racking up millions and millions of views in the process). From popular fast food chains selling burgers and pizzas and roadside stalls to premium restaurants, the self-appointed ‘Paneer police’ personnel are everywhere – armed with cameras, ready to shoot sure-to-go-viral Reels. Fear spreads as fast as wildfire, after all.
‘Order a paneer dish, scrape off some of the coating from a paneer cube, and add a drop of iodine solution. If the paneer turns black or blue, it’s fake.’ That’s the mantra – one that has not only boosted visibility for some social media influencers but also left many consumers anxious and numerous eateries unfairly maligned.
A recent such example? When 19-year-old Sarthak Sachdeva created a Reel at a few celebrity-owned restaurants in Mumbai, paneer turned black upon conducting the iodine test at Gauri Khan’s Torii. The video obviously went crazy viral. Within 2 days, it garnered over 7 million views (the creator has now removed it from his feed).
But can the iodine test really tell whether paneer is ‘fake’ or not? According to food scientists, chefs, and even doctors, this viral iodine test is nothing short of a mockery. There are plenty of scientific reasons why the results it yields on paneer can be wildly misleading.
And does it (the viral iodine test) actually prove whether the paneer is pure or not? If you ask actual experts on the matter – food scientists, not influencers – their answer is a clear and resounding no.
Why this iodine test can’t be trusted
Essentially, the iodine test is a starch detection test.
“Amylose, a component of starch, reacts with iodine to produce a deep blue or blue-black colour. This happens because iodine molecules slip into the amylose coils. This colour change is a reliable indicator of starch presence,” says Sonali.
Now, the paneer you are testing can turn blue/black for a variety of reasons.
Firstly, the other ingredients used while cooking the dish.
“Starch from other ingredients, like flour in gravies or other food items, can be absorbed into the paneer during cooking, leading to a false positive,” says Prof. Dinesh Kumar, senior advisor and executive director, Shoolini LifeSciences (SLC) Pvt Ltd (a food and water testing laboratory).
Secondly, a starch coating on paneer could be done for a variety of reasons that go beyond adulteration.
“Starch coatings on cottage cheese can be beneficial, particularly for improving shelf life and preventing moisture loss. It prevents paneer from drying out and maintaining its desirable texture and moisture content. These coatings can also act as a barrier against oxygen, reducing the risk of oxidation and off-flavour development,” Sonali Sinha, a food scientist, tells India Today.
“In low-fat paneer varieties, additives like starch are required to stabilise the cottage cheese’s texture. If you don’t want excess fat in the paneer, starch is used to help maintain its texture and rheological (flow and deformation) properties,” explains Dr Anjali Bhatt, a Bengaluru-based food scientist and founder of healthy snacking brand Pure Poshan.
That said, many also misuse starch to adulterate paneer or mislead customers.
“Starch adulteration in paneer is a common form of fraud. This adulteration is often done to increase the product’s weight and volume, potentially impacting its nutritional value and overall quality,” says Sinha.
In India, there’s a huge unorganised dairy market, and many local producers in this space don’t follow proper labelling practices. Some may be using certain additives to improve paneer’s texture and shelf life. (Though they may not be dangerous, they mislead the consumer.)
