Did you hear about Food Adulteration?
Adulteration
Adulteration is the addition of another substance to your entire food by choice/intentionally to increase the quality of food.
Moreover, adding impurities to the food can reduce the benefits gain from nutrients. These further added ingredients can be toxic or work as poison for people with sensitive immune systems.
How is Adulteration Prevented?
According to the National Health Service and Food Research Institute, some foods are adulterated to increase the quantity and generate more profit. This practice of adding impurities to food is widespread in all developing and other underdeveloped countries.
Every year on 7 April, celebrated worldwide as World Health Day, the report says the WHO wants to raise awareness of adulteration in food and promote healthy, balanced nutrition. We aim to motivate and inspire you to eat.
See Also: Food Poisoning and Here are some safety tips to avoid contamination.
- Clean and store all grains, legumes, and other foods.
- Wash fruits and vegetables thoroughly under running water before use.
- Before purchasing groceries such as Milk, oil, or other bags, check to see if the seal is valid.
- Always check and buy products with the FSSAI-certified label, the license number, ingredient list, date of manufacture, and expiration date.
Causes of Food Adulteration
Moreover, there are some causes of food adulteration; these are;
- Due to the trader’s profit objective
- To increase sales of properties
- To get more benefits with little investment
- To meet the increasing demand for food
- Due to a lack of customer awareness
Methods of Food Adulteration
Further, here is the list that identifies added adulterants.
- Artificial Ripening: The addition of different chemicals to increase or decrease the ripening time of fruits.
- Substitution: Spoiled food mixed with healthy ones for a better bakery.
- Addition of Toxic Substances: Addition of natural and chemical dyes add to foods to attract customers.
- Missing: Addition of water into Milk.
- Mixing: Clay, pebbles, stones, sand, and marble chips combine with cereals, pulses, and other crops.
- Misbranding: Addition of cheap or low-quality products in good quality foods to increase the weight or properties of that food.
However, this addition can be harmful because this is an illegal practice. Because of consuming contaminated foods, you may suffer from different nutrient deficiency diseases, kidney diseases, and failure of any organ like the heart, kidney, and liver. This practice can also refer as Food deficiency.
| Food Product | Adultration | Harmful Effects |
| Milk and Curd | Water & starch powder | Stomach problems |
| Ghee, Cheese and Butter | Mashed potatoes, Vanaspati and starch powder | Gastro-intestinal disturbance and other stomatch disorders. |
| Grains | Dust, pebbles, stones, straw, weed seeds etc. | Liver problems, toxicity in body etc. |
| Pluses | Dyes, chemicals and Lead Chromate. | Stomach problems |
| Coffee powder | Chicory, caramer, and date seeds | Diarrhoea |
| Tea | Exhausted tea leaves and artificial coloring agents | Liver problems and other health issues. |
| Sugar | plastic crystals, chalk powder, washing soda, and urea etc. | Stomach and kidney disorders. |
| Pepper | Coffee-bean skin, millet, ground-up stones, dried papaya seeds. | Sever allergic reactions. |
| Mustard seeds | Argemone seeds | Abdominal contraction, sluggishness and increased excretion |
Types of Food Adulteration
Based on different ingredients added to food to enhance its value, adulteration types define the difference between all of them.
Intentional Adulteration
The voluntary addition of impurities to some foods to gain more profit from it is termed intentional adulteration, such as the addition of sand, marble chips, stones, etc.
Incidental Adulteration
In Incidental adulteration, Impurities are found in food due to carelessness, ignorance, or lack of suitable conditions, such as Packaging problems like larvae of insects, dropping, and pesticide residues, etc.
Metalic Adulteration
However, metallic adulteration is the addition of metallic substances, intentionally or accidentally, such as arsenic, pesticides, lead from water, mercury from effluents, and tins from cams.
Packing Hazards
Last but not least, this impurity is done during packaging. When food is processed into packaging materials, there would be certain chances of adulteration with that material.
Types of Food Adulteration in Pharmacognosy
Based on pharmacognosy, there are three more different types;
- Firstly, the addition of unwanted chemical drugs
- Secondly, substitution with non-drugs components
- Finally, Foreign non-drug material
How to Prevent Food Adulteration
Further, there are several steps to get prevented adulteration; these include;
- Measures to consider when transporting and storing food. Insect infestation due to damp and unsanitary warehouse environments significantly threatens food grains, legumes, and spices. It would help if you tracked incoming and outgoing samples and dates to improve grain quality. During the rainy season or in areas with high humidity, extra care is required to prevent grain from rotting.
- The facility’s location should be planned so that “hot spots” of pest and contamination areas do not appear. Personal and environmental hygiene should be adequately assessed.
- Employee hygiene and the cleanliness of production facilities must be a top priority.
How will you detect if Milk is adulterated?
Starch-Iodine Test
Firstly, the starch iodine test can confirm the presence of starch in Milk. Take a 3ml milk sample tube. Boil, cool at room temperature, and add 1% iodine solution. The appearance of a blue color indicates the presence of starch and disappears upon boiling and reappears upon cooling.
Presence of detergent
Secondly, to detect detergent in Milk, shake 5-10 ml of the sample with equal water. Foam indicates the presence of detergent in the Milk.
Presence of Glucose
Further, to test the glucose/inverted sugar, immerse the diameter strip in Milk for 30 seconds to 1 minute. If the strip changes color, it confirms the presence of glucose in the Milk.
What is FASSI?
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) was established in 2008 to oversee food hygiene and quality in India. He started working in 2011 and has been responsible for regulating food safety in our country since then.
Hence, the present headquarter of FASSI is in New Delhi. The government also includes six regional offices in Delhi, Guwahati, Mumbai, Calcutta, Cochin, and Chennai. The organization established under the SSF Act of 2006, before which it administered several statutes and laws in various government departments.
Summary
Finally, it concludes that adulteration is an illegal practice. It could be harmful as well. On the other hand, if it practices with toxic chemicals and drugs and adds false packaging, It could cause serious diseases. Prevention of disorders is equally essential with all other health-benefiting factors.
Last but not least, on behalf of different types, it should prevent. Furthermore, by using additional tests, you can check whether food is contaminated.