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.

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.

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

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. 

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. 

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.

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.