You pick up a well-known mustard oil brand at the supermarket. The bottle looks familiar, the label says mustard oil, the price seems right. You bring it home and cook with it every day.
But here's what most people don't know: a large portion of the "mustard oil" sold in India is not pure mustard oil.
What's Actually in That Bottle?
For decades, Indian regulations allowed manufacturers to blend cheaper oils into mustard oil before selling it. The most common adulterants? Palm oil, refined soybean oil, and rice bran oil — all significantly cheaper than genuine mustard oil. Industry sources have estimated that up to 60–85% of mustard oil sold in the Indian market has been blended. The proportion of cheaper oil mixed in can range from 5% all the way to 50%.
And the darker truth: artificial flavours are added to replicate mustard oil's signature pungency — so your nose can't tell the difference.
Why Do Brands Do This?
Simple economics. Palm oil costs significantly less than mustard oil. Blending it in while charging full mustard oil price means higher margins. The consumer pays for pure mustard oil. The consumer doesn't receive it.
The Health Cost
Consuming large quantities of palm oil regularly is associated with higher LDL cholesterol and cardiovascular risk. The refined soybean and rice bran oils used as adulterants are processed with chemical solvents that strip away natural nutrients. You're not just being cheated on price — you're being cheated on health.
FSSAI Eventually Stepped In
FSSAI banned the blending of other vegetable oils into mustard oil for domestic sale — a move specifically triggered by widespread violations found during pan-India surveillance raids. The fact that a government ban was needed tells you everything about how common this practice had become.
How Do You Know You're Getting Pure Oil?
The answer isn't a bigger brand. The answer is transparency — knowing exactly where your oil comes from and how it's made.
At Gharana, our mustard oil is cold-pressed in small batches from Rajasthani black and yellow mustard seeds. No blending. No palm oil. No artificial flavour. No chemicals. Just mustard seeds and a traditional kachi ghani press.
The price reflects the real cost of pure oil. Because we don't cut corners to cut prices.
Your family deserves to know what's actually in their food. Shop Gharana's cold-pressed mustard oil — 100% pure, 100% transparent.
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