What is Food Adulteration, its Types & How to Detect?

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Food adulteration is a global issue driven by economic, regulatory, and social factors compromising food quality and safety. It poses significant health risks and undermines economic stability and consumer trust in the food supply.

Addressing this issue requires a multifaceted approach, including stricter regulations, enhanced consumer education, and the adoption of advanced technological solutions. By tackling the root causes and implementing comprehensive measures, the effects of impurity can be mitigated, and public health can be safeguarded.

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What is Food Adulteration?

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Food is considered contaminated when it does not adhere to the government's legal standards, and this is regarded as a criminal violation. Food adulteration occurs when ingredients that lower food quality are introduced to it, whether on purpose or accidentally. Consequently, "food adulteration" refers to contaminating or adulterating food or food products by adding hazardous substances.

Different Types of Food Adulteration

Food adulteration involves adding harmful substances or removing valuable nutrients from food products, making them unsafe and less nutritious. It can take various forms, each with specific characteristics and health implications.

1. Incidental Adulteration

Incidental food adulteration happens unintentionally during food handling.  It can be things like leftover pesticide traces on crops, tiny bugs in grains, or even bits of plastic from packaging accidentally mixed in.

2. Intentional Adulteration

Intentional food adulteration is when someone tampers with food on purpose,  often to increase profit by adding fillers or misleading ingredients. This can be dangerous because it can make the food unsafe to eat.

3. Packing Hazard

Packing hazards refer to dangers that arise from how food is packaged. These can include the risk of contamination by chemicals from packaging materials, physical objects getting into the food, or problems with the packaging itself, allowing spoilage.

4. Metallic Adulteration

Metallic food adulteration is when harmful metals, like lead or mercury, are added to food. This can happen accidentally, through processing or storage, or even intentionally by someone trying to make food look better or stretch it further.  These metals can cause serious health problems.

Types of Common Adulteration in Food

Food adulteration involves intentionally adding substandard, harmful, or unauthorised substances to food products, compromising their quality and safety. 

Common forms of adulteration include using cheaper alternatives, artificial colours, and preservatives, often to increase profit margins at the expense of consumer health.

Food Products

 Adulterants Harmful Effects
Milk or curd Water, detergent, synthetic milk, starch Gastrointestinal problems, kidney damage, nutrient deficiency
Ghee, butter, and cheese Vanaspati, starch, synthetic fats Heart diseases, digestive issues, nutrient deficiencies
Grains Stones, dust, husks, artificial colour Digestive issues, poisoning from artificial colours
Pulses Artificial colours, stones Allergic reactions, kidney stones, digestive issues
Coffee powder Tamarind seed, chicory powder Stomach disorders, joint pain
Tea Artificial colour, exhausted tea leaves Liver damage and cancer risk from synthetic colours
Sugar Chalk powder, washing soda Gastrointestinal issues, liver problems
Pepper Dried papaya seeds Stomach disorders, digestive issues
Mustard seeds Argemone seeds Dropsy, glaucoma, cardiovascular issues
Edible Oils Cheaper oils, mineral oil Cancer, heart diseases, liver damage
Turmeric powder Metanil yellow, lead chromate Cancer, liver disorders, neurological issues
Chilli and Coriander Powder Artificial colours, brick powder Cancer risk, digestive issues, liver damage
Cinnamon Sticks Cassia bark Liver damage, toxic effects on kidneys
Cumin Seeds Grass seeds, stone powder Digestive issues, choking hazard
Jam, Juice, and Candies Artificial sweeteners, colours Allergic reactions, cancer risk, hyperactivity in children
Jaggery Chalk powder, artificial colours Digestive issues, toxicity from colours
Honey Sugar syrup, glucose Weight gain, diabetes risk, reduced immune response
Fruits and Vegetables Wax, artificial ripening agents (e.g., calcium carbide) Cancer, digestive issues, neurological disorders
Tomato Sauces Artificial colour, starch Allergic reactions, digestive issues, potential carcinogens
Ice Cream Washing powder, synthetic flavours Gastrointestinal problems, potential toxicity

Major Factors Behind Adulteration of Food

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Food adulteration refers to adding substances to food products to increase quantity, enhance appearance, or reduce production costs, often at the expense of quality, safety, and nutritional value. Several factors contribute to this practice:

  • Profit Maximisation: Adulteration is often driven by the desire to increase profits. Adding cheaper substances to bulk up products allows producers to sell more for less.
  • Cost Reduction: Producers can reduce manufacturing expenses by using lower-cost ingredients. This is particularly common in industries with thin profit margins.
  • Market Competition: Some businesses may resort to adulteration to offer lower prices and attract more customers in highly competitive markets.
  • Supply and Demand Imbalance: Shortages of high-quality ingredients can lead producers to adulterate products to meet demand and stabilise prices.
  • Inadequate Regulation: Food safety regulations may need to be stronger or better enforced in some regions, providing opportunities for unscrupulous practices.
  • Corruption: Corruption within regulatory bodies can lead to a lack of oversight and continuing adulteration practices.
  • Sophistication in Adulteration Methods: Advances in technology have made it easier to degrade food in ways that are difficult to detect.
  • Mass Production: The industrial scale of food production can sometimes lead to shortcuts and compromises in quality control.
  • Cultural Practices: In some cultures, traditional practices might inadvertently contribute to impurity, such as adding non-standard ingredients for perceived health benefits.
  • Trust in Local Vendors: High confidence levels in local or familiar vendors can reduce vigilance and scrutiny of food products.

How to Detect Adulteration in Food?

Detecting food adulteration involves keen observation and basic tests, empowering consumers to identify potential contaminants or alterations in their food. These methods, from visual inspection to taste assessment, help ensure the safety and authenticity of food products consumed at home.

Food Products Ways to Detect
Milk or Curd If you place a drop of milk on a smooth, sloping surface, it will show that water is present. Whereas a drop of water-laced milk travels swiftly and leaves no trace, a drop of pure milk flows slowly and creates a white trail.
Ghee, Butter, and Cheese Cheese: High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), a sophisticated analytical technique, is often employed to find pollutants in food goods like milk and cheese.
Ghee: Pure ghee should turn blue-black when a small amount of iodine solution is added; contaminated ghee will turn brown or yellow.
Butter: A few drops of iodine, which is brownish and becomes blue when added, can easily be used to evaluate whether mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes are included in a butter sample.
Grains Take a sip of pure water. Add two tsp of food grains and process until well combined. Pure grain will not leave any colour. Water turns discoloured the minute food grains are tampered with.
Pulses TLC is a chromatographic technique used to separate and analyse complex mixtures. The test involves applying a small amount of the pulse extract to a thin layer of adsorbent material, such as silica gel, and then allowing it to migrate up a chromatographic plate via capillary action. After development, the plate is visualised under UV light or treated with specific reagents to detect the presence of impurities.
Coffee Powder Pour one teaspoon of coffee powder into a clear glass of water. The chicory starts to sink as the coffee powder floats over the liquid.
Tea Tea leaves should be spread out on filter paper. Sprinkle some water on the filter paper to make it wet. Examine the stains under a bright light source after washing the filter paper with tap water. Pure tea leaves will not discolour the filter paper.
Sugar Take a glass of pure water. Ten grams of the sample should dissolve in the water. When chalk is mixed with jaggery or pithy sugar, the adulterant will sink to the bottom.
Pepper Add a tiny pinch of black pepper to a glass of water. The pure black pepper settles to the bottom, and the papaya seeds float on the water's surface in the contaminated black pepper.
Mustard Seeds Sprinkle a few mustard seeds onto a glass dish. Use your eyes to find the argemone seeds. When crushed, mustard seeds display a smooth, yellow interior. Argemone seeds have a granular, rough surface and are black.
Edible Oils Warm a small amount of oil in a pan over low to medium heat. Since pure oils usually have a high smoke point, heating them should produce less smoke or foam. Smoke or excessive foaming could indicate the presence of toxins or pollutants.
Turmeric Powder Stir the powdered Haldi with a teaspoon of water. It is real if it turns pale yellow and settles to the bottom. Nevertheless, manipulated Haldi powder turns a dark yellow when combined with water.
Chilli and Coriander Powder Mix a small amount of the powder with water to make a paste. Apply a drop of iodine solution to this paste. If the iodine turns blue, it suggests starch's presence, which could indicate adulteration.
Cinnamon Sticks If cinnamon powder is adulterated with cassia, a drop of iodine turns it blue, whereas real cinnamon remains intact.
Cumin Seeds After adding a teaspoon of cumin to a glass of water, stir and let it settle for a bit. The contaminants will float while the pure spice sinks to the bottom. Place a few cumin seeds in your hands and thoroughly massage them. The turning of your palms black indicates infidelity.
Jam, Juice, and Candies Jam: High-quality jam contains natural sugars from fruits. Test the sweetness level to ensure it aligns with what's expected from the fruit used. Unusually high sweetness might indicate added sugars or sweeteners.
Juice: Dilute a small amount of juice with water and observe any separation or unusual reactions. Authentic juice should mix uniformly with water.
Candies: Authentic candies should have a consistent texture. Any unusual hardness, stickiness, or grittiness might suggest adulteration.
Jaggery Grab a clear water glass and fill it with 10 grams of the sample. If chalk and jaggery are combined, the adulterant will sink to the bottom of the glass.
Honey Add a teaspoon of honey to a glass of warm water and mix. If it sinks to the bottom without dissolving, it's probably pure honey. If it seems hazy or melts, it might be tampered with.
Fruits and Vegetables Look for any signs of physical damage, bruising, mould, or unusual spots on the surface of the fruits and vegetables. Fresh produce should have vibrant colours and firm textures.
Tomato Sauces Tomato sauce should have a pH level typically below 4.6, which is acidic enough to prevent the growth of harmful bacteria. pH testing strips or meters can measure the sauce's acidity.
Ice Cream Genuine ice cream should melt slowly and evenly when left at room temperature. Ice cream that melts quickly or separates into liquid and solid components may contain excessive water or other additives.

How to Check Food Adulteration at Home?

At-home methods enable individuals to assess food adulteration, safeguarding against potential health risks and ensuring the integrity of food products consumed.

  • Dairy Products: Combine a small dairy product with equal water in a transparent glass. Genuine dairy products should completely dissolve in water, leaving no residue or layers. Any separation, colour changes, or visible remains could indicate adulteration with substances like starch, water, or additives.
  • Seeds: Place a sample of seeds in a basin of water. Pure seeds are denser than water and typically sink to the bottom. Contaminated seeds, however, may float on the water's surface or remain suspended due to the presence of lighter materials like husks, shells, or empty seeds.
  • Fruits and Vegetables: Soak a piece of cotton in vegetable oil or water (perform the test separately). Gently rub a small piece of green vegetable or fruit on its outer surface against the cotton. If the cotton becomes green, it suggests contamination with malachite green.
  • Oils and Fats: Place two millilitres of oil in a bowl and add a spoonful of yellow butter. If the oil's colour remains unchanged, it is considered pure and suitable for consumption.
  • Added Sugars: Mix a small amount of iodine with water to create a solution. When added milk turns blue or purple, this solution indicates possible tampering or adulteration with added sugars.
  • Beverages: Use pH test strips to determine the beverage's acidity or alkalinity. Genuine beverages typically fall within specific pH ranges, depending on their type. Significant deviations from these typical ranges could suggest adulteration or the addition of bases or acids.

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.

Risks of Consuming Adulterated Food

Consuming contaminated food poses several health risks. Adulteration involves adding substances that are either harmful or of inferior quality to food products, often for economic gain. 

  • Health Hazards: Adulterants such as artificial colours, chemicals, pesticides, and toxins can lead to various health issues ranging from mild allergies to severe poisoning. Long-term consumption of contaminated food may even lead to chronic health conditions.
  • Nutritional Deficiencies: Adulterants may dilute the nutritional content of food, leading to deficiencies in essential nutrients. For example, watering down milk reduces its protein and vitamin content, affecting overall nutrition.
  • Microbial Contamination: Due to improper handling or storage practices, adulterated food may harbour harmful microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses, and fungi. This can cause foodborne illnesses such as diarrhoea, vomiting, and, in severe cases, even death.
  • Organ Damage: Some pollutants, such as heavy metals like lead and arsenic, can accumulate in the body over time and cause damage to vital organs like the liver, kidneys, and nervous system.
  • Economic Loss: Consuming contaminated food can lead to financial losses due to medical expenses for treating food-related illnesses and loss of productivity from sickness.

What are the Diseases Caused by Food Adulteration?

Consuming contaminated food carries substantial health risks from contaminants like chemicals and toxins. Such adulterants compromise food safety standards, necessitating vigilant oversight and awareness to mitigate their adverse effects.

Disease

 Description
Food Poisoning Contaminated or adulterated food can contain harmful bacteria, viruses, or parasites, leading to food poisoning. Symptoms may include nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, abdominal pain, fever, and dehydration.
Gastrointestinal Disorders Adulterants such as chemicals, pesticides, and toxins can irritate the digestive system, leading to gastrointestinal disorders such as gastritis, gastroenteritis, and dysentery.
Allergic Reactions Adulterants like artificial colours, flavours, and preservatives can trigger allergic reactions in susceptible individuals, causing symptoms such as skin rashes, itching, swelling, and respiratory problems.
Neurological Disorders Certain pollutants, such as heavy metals like lead and mercury, can accumulate in the body over time and affect the nervous system, leading to neurological disorders such as neuropathy, cognitive impairment, and developmental delays, especially in children.
Liver and Kidney Damage Adulterants like industrial dyes and chemical contaminants can damage the liver and kidneys, leading to conditions such as liver toxicity, kidney failure, and renal dysfunction.
Cancer Long-term consumption of contaminated food containing carcinogenic substances such as synthetic dyes, chemical preservatives, and food additives may increase the risk of cancer, particularly gastrointestinal cancers and leukaemia.
Endocrine Disorders Adulterants like hormones and steroids added to food products can disrupt the endocrine system, leading to hormonal imbalances, thyroid disorders, and reproductive problems.
Respiratory Issues Certain pollutants, such as sulfites used as preservatives in foods like dried fruits and wines, can trigger respiratory problems and exacerbate asthma symptoms in sensitive individuals.
Malnutrition Adulteration can reduce the nutritional value of food by diluting essential nutrients or substituting them with inferior substances, leading to malnutrition and dietary deficiencies.

Food adulteration is a significant concern that affects public health and safety. It involves adding harmful substances or removing essential nutrients from food, compromising its quality and nutritional value. This practice can lead to severe health issues. Consumers must stay vigilant by purchasing from trusted sources, checking for signs of impurity, and reporting suspicious products to authorities.

FAQs about Food Adulteration