What Is Food Adulteration and Its Impact on Human Health?

Our body absorbs the food we eat and releases energy. This helps sustain life and carry out day-to-day activities. However, if there is any compromise in the quality, it can directly affect our productivity and even lead to health problems. Thus, the food we consume must be free from any mixing of elements.

However, unfortunately, people carry out such activities to earn more profits, the process for which is commonly called food adulteration. Keep reading to learn more about it.

What Is Food Adulteration?

Food Adulteration is a major challenge that today’s society faces despite the several measures the government has taken to maintain the quality. It is the process of mixing harmful elements into the food with a similar texture and appearance but not the same composition.

Also, as a result of this addition, the substance fails to meet a set legal standard. In other words, it reduces the nutritional essence of the food. Some of the products adulterated in India are wheat, milk, beverages, food grains, honey, butter, ice cream, spices, etc.

What Are the Reasons That Lead to Adulteration of Food?

The most common reasons why people carry out adulteration of food includes the following:

To earn maximum profit with limited investment.
To meet the increasing demand due to the rising population.
Increase the yearly production of a company.
Use it as one of the company’s business strategies.
Lack of knowledge relating to effects of food adulteration

What Are the Different Types of Food Adulteration ?

There are four different types of food adulteration processes. These include:

1. Incidental Adulteration

his occurs due to the ignorant nature of people when handling food products. For example, farmers accidentally leave behind residues of pesticides in food grains, items having rodent droppings, larvae growth, etc.

2. Intentional Adulteration

It is when someone intentionally adds similar-looking unwanted substances to add weight or increase the overall quantity of the product. Some common food adulterants used for this purpose are chalk powers, mud, sand, pebbles, stone, contaminated water, etc.

3. Packing Hazard

This hazard occurs when the packing material in which the food item is packed is not up to standards and interferes with food composition.

4. Metallic Adulteration

This is another type of food adulteration that occurs when metallic products are added to the food, like mercury or lead. It can be either intentional or unintentional.

What Are the Different Methods of Adding Food Adulterants?

Following are some common methods of adding food adulterants:

1. Mixing unwanted items

It includes mixing chemicals, sand, pebbles, and other harmful substance in food.

2. Adding decomposed food to healthy ones

When decomposed food is added to healthy ones, it conceals its true quality, which again comes under the definition of food adulteration.

3. Substituting healthy products with cheap ones

Many substitute healthy products with low-quality ones that alter their nutrition level and cause health issues.

4. Misleading information

At times, products are sold, giving misleading information about their expiration date, manufacturing date, ingredients, etc.

List of Food Adulterants and Their Harmful Effects

Here is a table enlisting different food items, respective adulterants used, along with the associated harmful effects of food adulteration.

Food Products	Adulterants	Harmful Effects
Grains	Stones, pebbles, weed seeds, dust, damaged grains, etc.	Liver disease, filling toxicity in body
Ghee, butter, and cheese	Starch powder, mashed potatoes, and vanaspati	Stomach disorders like gastrointestinal issues
Milk or curd	Starch powder or water	Stomach issues
Tea	Artificial colours	Liver problems
Coffee powder	Tamarind seed powder or chicory	Diarrhoea
Pulses	Lead chromate, chemical and dyes	Stomach problem
Edible oil	Karanja oil, Mineral oil, artificial colours, or castor oil	Issues with gallbladder, paralysis, allergies, high LDL cholesterol
Chilli and coriander powder	Red brick powder, lead metal, dung powder, red lead, etc.	Metal toxicity, blood pressure issues, stomach problems, cancer, etc.
Mustard seeds	Argemone seeds	Sluggishness, abdominal contraction, excretion problem
Pepper	Blackberries and dried papaya seeds	Allergic reaction, skin rashes, stomach disorder
Turmeric powder	Saw dust, chalk powder, pesticide residue, lead metal, industrial dye, metanil yellow dye arsenic	Stomach issues, cancer
Honey	Molasses, sugar & corn syrup, dextrose	Stomach issue

How to Detect Adulterated Food?

Now that you know the list of common food adulterants, it will be easy to detect them. Some methods that can be undertaken at home are as follows:

To check if milk is adulterated with detergent or not, pour it into a bottle and shake it well. If it forms a foam, it means the milk contains adulterants. If not, it’s free from such substances.
To find adulterated products like chalk powder in jaggery or sugar, take it in a container and mix it with water. If you see some residue precipitating at the bottom, it contains contaminants.
You can detect adulteration in vegetables by washing them in warm water. If it leaves behind coloured water, it means it contains impurities.

How Can You Get Rid of Adulterated Food Items?

A few of the practical ways in which you can get rid of the items mentioned in the above list of food adulteration include:

Try to buy grains and other essential food items from the local market beside your home or the farmer directly.
Prepare simple items like red chilli powder at home by grinding dried red chillies yourself.
Choose branded organic products rather than cheap ones for a healthier living.
Avoid dark coloured food.
Check if the seal of items like milk, oil and other liquids is intact.

To conclude, food adulteration is a common practice among people in India that can harm our health. So, it is better that you know about the process and the food items that are a product of such malpractices. Additionally, take a look at the above points to develop an idea of how to prevent yourself from consuming one.

Frequently Asked Questions

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What happens if someone fails to meet legal standards due to food adulteration?

In India, it is a legal offence to carry out adulteration of food, and if someone fails to meet the set food standard due to this reason, he or she may face legal penalties and even imprisonment.

What factors does FSSAI consider under the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act 1954?

The factors that FSSAI looks into under the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act 1954 include manufacturing details, a list of ingredients and the expiry date mentioned in the food item.