Traceability
Lab reports and batch verification
Every Himdhara batch is tested before any jar is sold. Enter the code on your jar to see that batch's results. For the ghee: moisture, free fatty acids, total fat, the Baudouin test for vanaspati adulteration and the fat-identity values that show it is pure milk fat. For the shilajit: fulvic acid and the heavy metals lead, arsenic, mercury and cadmium.
Check a batch
Which batch is in your jar?
Ghee codes are printed on the base of the jar in the form HIM101 and identify the exact churn. Shilajit batch numbers, such as 2658, are printed on the pack.
Recent batches
Methodology
What we test for, and why
Every ghee batch is tested against the FSSAI standard for ghee: how fresh and dry it is, and whether it is pure milk fat with nothing blended in. We publish each batch's actual numbers next to the legal limits, rather than a certificate. Shilajit is tested for fulvic acid and heavy metals; see the last question.
Moisture
Water left behind after clarification. Water is what lets ghee spoil, so a low figure means the butter was clarified properly and the ghee will keep. FSSAI allows up to 0.5%; batch HIM101 tested at 0.16%.
Free fatty acids (FFA)
Measures how much the fat has broken down. It rises with age, heat and poor storage. The FSSAI limit for ghee is 2.0%, expressed as oleic acid; batch HIM101 tested at 0.76%.
Iodine and saponification values
The iodine value reflects how unsaturated the fat is, and the saponification value reflects the average length of its fatty acids. Both have a characteristic range for pure milk fat. Batch HIM101: iodine 27.8 (FSSAI range 25 to 38), saponification 216.4 (205 to 235).
RM value, Polenske value and BR reading
These identify the fat itself. Milk fat is unusually rich in short-chain fatty acids, which the Reichert-Meissl (RM) and Polenske values measure; the butyro-refractometer (BR) reading measures how the melted fat bends light at 40°C. Vegetable oils and animal body fats fall outside the ranges FSSAI sets for ghee, so a blended ghee tends to show up here. Batch HIM101: RM 26.8 (minimum 24.0), Polenske 1.2 (0.5 to 2.0), BR 42.8 (40.0 to 44.0).
Baudouin test
A colour test for sesame oil, which is the marker added to vanaspati (hydrogenated vegetable fat) in India. A negative result means no vanaspati has been blended in. This is the single most common form of ghee adulteration.
Total fat
How much of the ghee is fat. Ghee is almost nothing else, and FSSAI requires at least 99.5% milk fat; batch HIM101 tested at 99.84%.
Shilajit: fulvic acid and heavy metals
Shilajit is usually graded by its fulvic acid content, and because it comes out of rock it can carry heavy metals. Each batch is tested for fulvic acid and for lead, arsenic, mercury and cadmium against the Ayurvedic Pharmacopoeia of India limits, and each of the five added ingredients is checked against the label. Batch 2658: 76.5% fulvic acid against a specification of more than 60%, and all four metals passed. This certificate is the manufacturer's own, issued by Sukhayubhava Pharmaceutical, which makes the resin for Himdhara.