Due to its lower cost, cassava starch is a common adulterant in higher priced starches, such as for potato and wheat. Tests with droplet digital polymerase chain reaction ddPCR in China uncovered that over 30% of sweet potato starch samples, 25% of cornstarch samples and 40% of potato starch samples were adulterated with cassava starch. Besides the economic impact, this kind of fraud also poses a risk to consumers allergic to cassava.

Resource

1. Chen, J., et. al. (February 26, 2020). “Identification and quantification of cassava starch adulteration in different food starches by droplet digital PCR”. PLOS One.