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CHEMISTRY
INVESTIGATORY PROJECT
STUDY OF
ADULTERANTS IN
FOOD STUFFS
NAME:
CLASS:
2
INDEX
[Link] Contents Page No.
I. Objective 3
II. Introduction 4
III. Theory 5
IV. Experiment 1 6
V. Experiment 2 7
VI. Experiment 3 8
VII. Result 9
VIII. Conclusion 10
IX. Bibliography 11
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OBJECTIVE
The main objective of the assignment is to detect
few Adulterants Present in The Food Stuff.
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INTRODUCTION
Adulteration in food is normally present in its most crude form;
prohibited substances are either added or partly or wholly substituted. Normally
the contamination/adulteration in food is done either for financial gain or due to
carelessness and lack in proper hygienic condition of processing, storing,
transportation and marketing. This ultimately results that the consumer is either
cheated or often become victim of diseases. Such types of adulteration are quite
common in developing countries or backward countries. It is equally important
for the consumer to know the common adulterants and their effect on health.
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THEORY
The increasing number of food producers and the outstanding amount of
import foodstuffs enables the producers to mislead and cheat consumers. To
differentiate those who take advantage of legal rules from the ones who commit
food adulteration is very difficult. The consciousness of consumers would be
crucial. Ignorance and unfair market behavior may endanger consumer health
and misleading can lead to poisoning. So we need simple screening tests for
their detection.
In the past few decades, adulteration of food has become one of the
serious problems. Consumption of adulterated food causes serious diseases like
cancer, diarrhoea, asthma, ulcers, etc. Majority of fats, oils and butter are
paraffin wax, castor oil and hydrocarbons. Red chilli powder is mixed with
brick powder and pepper is mixed with dried papaya seeds. These adulterants
can be easily identified by simple chemical tests.
Several agencies have been set up by the Government of India to remove
adulterants from food stuffs.
AGMARK - acronym for agricultural marketing....this organization
certifies food products for their quality. Its objective is to promote the Grading
and Standardization of agricultural and allied commodities.
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EXPERIMENT-1
To detect the presence of adulterants in fat, oil and butter.
REQUIREMENTS
Test-tube, acetic anhydride, conc. H2SO4, acetic acid, conc. HNO3.
PROCEDURE
Common adulterants present in ghee and oil are paraffin wax,
hydrocarbons, dyes and argemone oil. These are detected as follows:
(i) Adulteration of paraffin wax and hydrocarbon in vegetable ghee
Heat small amount of vegetable ghee with acetic anhydride. Droplets of
oil floating on the surface of unused acetic anhydride indicates the
presence of wax or hydrocarbons.
(ii) Adulteration of dyes in fat
Heat 1mL of fat with a mixture of 1mL of conc. sulphuric acid and 4mL
of acetic acid. Appearance of pink or red colour indicates presence of dye
in fat.
(iii) Adulteration of argemone oil in edible oils
To small amount of oil in a test-tube, add few drops of conc. HNO3 and
shake. Appearance of red colour in the acid layer indicates presence of
argemone oil.
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EXPERIMENT-2
To detect the presence of adulterants in sugar
REQUIREMENTS
Test-tubes, dil. HCl.
PROCEDURE
Sugar is usually contaminated with washing soda and other insoluble
substances which are detected as follows:
(i) Adulteration of various insoluble substances in sugar Take small
amount of sugar in a test-tube and shake it with little water. Pure sugar
dissolves in water but insoluble impurities do not dissolve.
(ii) Adulteration of chalk powder, washing soda in sugar To small amount
of sugar in a test-tube, add few drops of dil. HCl. Brisk effervescence
of CO2 shows the presence of chalk powder or washing soda in the
given sample of sugar.
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EXPERIMENT-3
To detect the presence of adulterants in samples of chilli powder, turmeric
powder and pepper
REQUIREMENTS
Test-tubes, conc. HCI, dil. HNO3, KI solution
PROCEDURE
Common adulterants present in chilli powder, turmeric powder and
pepper are red coloured lead salts, yellow lead salts and dried papaya seeds
respectively. They are detected as follows:
(i) Adulteration of red lead salts in chilli powder
To a sample of chilli powder, add dil. HNO3. Filter the solution and
add 2 drops of potassium iodide solution to the filtrate. Yellow ppt.
indicates the presence of lead salts in chilli powder.
(ii) Adulteration of yellow lead salts to turmeric powder
To a sample of turmeric powder add conc. HCl. Appearance of
magenta colour shows the presence of yellow oxides of lead in
turmeric powder.
(iii) Adulteration of brick powder in red Chilli powder
Add small amount of given red chili powder in beaker containing
water. Brick powder settles at the bottom while pure Chilli powder
floats over water.
(iv) Adulteration of dried papaya seeds in pepper
Add small amount of sample of pepper to a beaker containing water
and stir with a glass rod. Dried papaya seeds being lighter float over
water while pure pepper settles at the bottom.
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CONCLUSION
Selection of wholesome and non-adulterated food is essential for daily
life to make sure that such foods do not cause any health hazard. It is not
possible to ensure wholesome food only on visual examination when the toxic
contaminants are present in ppm level. However, visual examination of the food
before purchase makes sure to ensure absence of insects, visual fungus, foreign
matters, etc. Therefore, due care taken by the consumer at the time of purchase
of food after thoroughly examining can be of great help. Secondly, label
declaration on packed food is very important for knowing the ingredients and
nutritional value. It also helps in checking the freshness of the food and the
period of best before use. The consumer should avoid taking food from an
unhygienic place and food being prepared under unhygienic conditions. Such
types of food may cause various diseases. Consumption of cut fruits being sold
in unhygienic conditions should be avoided. It is always better to buy certified
food from reputed shop.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
ENCARTA ENCYCLOPEDIA 2009
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