Green Vegetables — Malachite Green Surface-Colour Screen

What the FSSAI surface check does

FSSAI's rapid guidance for green vegetables uses a simple surface observation. A cotton swab is dampened with water or vegetable oil and rubbed on the outer green surface. If an obvious green colour transfers to the cotton, the sample is treated as suspicious for artificial colouring. Kitchen Check should describe this as a rapid surface-colour screen, not a chemical confirmation of malachite green.

Use a clean white swab

Coloured cloth or tissue can hide the result. Use a clean white cotton ball or swab. Test only a small area and do not rub so hard that plant tissue breaks down and stains the cotton naturally. Gentle contact keeps the observation focused on surface-applied colour.

Do not name the chemical from colour alone

A green stain may raise concern about artificial colouring, but a household swab cannot identify the exact compound. Kitchen Check should not say 'malachite green confirmed'. The correct wording is 'artificial green colour screen suspicious'. Confirming a specific dye needs an official analytical method.

Natural surface variation is normal

Green vegetables naturally vary in shade and may have dust, soil or surface bloom. A darker vegetable is not automatically artificially coloured. The test is about colour transferring onto the swab, not about how bright the vegetable looks in the market.

Wash produce normally after purchase

Kitchen Check should not tell users to use detergent, bleach or household chemicals to remove suspected colour from vegetables. Follow ordinary food-safety washing practices with clean water. If a batch strongly appears artificially coloured, the safer action is to stop using the questionable batch and document the seller rather than trying to chemically clean it at home.

Keep the main batch untouched if reporting

If several pieces from the same batch give the same colour-transfer result, photograph the produce and keep purchase details. Avoid rubbing or washing every piece before a possible complaint. A cleaner, less altered sample is more useful for official evaluation.

Recommended result wording

Use 'No obvious green surface colour transferred', 'Result unclear—repeat gently on a fresh area', or 'Obvious green colour transferred—screen suspicious'. Never show 'chemical dye confirmed' from this test.

Keep the result narrow and practical

Kitchen Check should not tell the user to throw away every green vegetable because one cotton swab looks faintly tinted. If the colour transfer is weak, repeat once on another intact area with a fresh swab. If the transfer is strong and clearly dye-like, stop there. Record the product, seller, date and a photo of the tested swab if useful. The feature should then move directly to the official follow-up option instead of offering more home chemistry.