Allyl isothiocyanate is a pale yellow oil, responsible for the pungency of mustard oil. The mustard seeds are crushed to give Allyl isothiocyanate. The specific value of pungency in mustard oil is determined in an analytical laboratory. These values are very indicative to determine the quality of mustard oil or mustard seeds from which the oil comes. As Allyl isothiocyanate contains sulphur, the oil itself aquires a faint black color. Also, the chemical Allyl isothiocyanate can be prepared synthetically. As such some adulteration of pungency is expected. In that case, the artificial flavour of pungency overlaps original natural taste of the oil. The specific value of pungency as determined in the laboratory varies from 0.25 to 0.4(the values determined by the govt. standard organisation). When the values exceed or get low from this range, it is assumed to be a low quality of oil.

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