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Detecting Food Adulterants: Methods & Tests

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ayushrajput777.2004
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18 views14 pages

Detecting Food Adulterants: Methods & Tests

Uploaded by

ayushrajput777.2004
Copyright
© All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

CONTENTS

(i) Certificate
(ii) Acknowledgement
(iii) Objective
(iv) Introduction
(v) Theory
(vi) experimental Work
• Aim
• Apparatus required
• Procedure
• Observations
• Result
(vii) Bibliography
OBJECTIVE
The Objective of this project is to study some of
the common food adulterants present in different
food stuffs.
Introduction
Food is one of the basic necessities for
sustenance of life. Pure, fresh and healthy
diet is most essential for the health of the
people. It is no wonder to say that community
health is national wealth. Adulteration of
food-stuffs was so rampant, widespread and
persistent that nothing short of a somewhat
drastic remedy in the form of a
comprehensive legislation became the need
of the hour. To check this kind of anti-social
evil a concerted and determined onslaught
was launched by the Government by
introduction of the Prevention of Food
Adulteration Bill in the Parliament to herald
an era of much needed hope and relief for
The consumers at large.
About the middle of the 19th century
Chemical and microscopic Knowledge had
reached the stage that food substances
could be Analyzed, and the subject of food
adulteration began to be Studied from the
standpoint of the rights and welfare of the
Consumer.
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
commode
EXPERIMENT :- 1
Aim :
To detect the presence of adulterants in fat, oil
and butter.
MATERIAL REQUIRED :
Test-tube, acetic anhydride, conc. H2SO4, acetic
acid, conc. HNO3.
PROCEDURE :
Common adulterants present in ghee and oil are
parain wax, Hydrocarbons, dyes and argemone
oil. These are detected as Follows :
• Adulteration of parain 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.
• 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.
• 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.
EXPERIMENT :- 2
Aim:
To detect the presence of adulterants in samples
of chili Powder, turmeric powder and pepper.
MATERIAL REQUIRED :-
Test-tubes, Conc. HCI, dil. HNO , Kl Solution
Procedure
Common adulterants present in chill powder,
turmeric Powder and pepper are red coloured
lead salts, yellow lead salts and Dried papaya
seeds respectively. They are detected as follows:
• Adulteration of red lead salts in chili
powder:
To a sample of chili powder, add dil. HNO,. Filter the
[Link] and add 2 drops of Potassium iodide
solution to The filtrate. Yellow ppt. indicates the
presence of lead salts In chilli powder.
• Adulteration of yellow lead salts to
turmeric powder:
To a sample of turmeric powder add conc. HCI.
Appearance Of magenta colour shows the presence of
yellow oxides of Lead in turmeric powder.
• Adulteration of brick powder in red chili
powder:
Add small amount of given red chili powder in beaker
Containing water. Brick powder settles at the bottom
while Pure chili powder floats over water.
• Adulteration of dried papaya seeds in
pepper:
Add small amount of sample of pepper to
beaker Containing Water and stir with a
glass rod. Dried papaya Seeds being lighter
float over water while pure pepper settles At
the bottom.
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 shops.
BIBLIOGRAPHY

Website :-
• [Link]
• [Link]
• [Link]
• [Link]
BOOKS :-
• NCERT Class 12th
• Practical Book

Common questions

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Adulteration of paraffin wax and hydrocarbons in ghee can be detected by heating a small amount of vegetable ghee with acetic anhydride. The presence of oil droplets floating on the surface of unused acetic anhydride indicates the presence of these adulterants .

To identify brick powder adulteration in chili powder, a small amount of the powder is added to a beaker with water. Pure chili powder floats while brick powder, being denser, settles at the bottom of the beaker, indicating adulteration .

To detect argemone oil adulteration in edible oils, conc. HNO3 is added to the oil sample. The appearance of a red color in the acid layer serves as an indicator of the presence of argemone oil, a harmful adulterant .

Consuming adulterated food can lead to serious diseases such as cancer, diarrhoea, asthma, and ulcers. These health risks arise from harmful substances added to food products, such as paraffin wax, castor oil, hydrocarbons, and chemical dyes .

Consumer awareness is crucial in tackling food adulteration because informed consumers can make better purchasing decisions, decreasing the likelihood of health risks due to adulteration. Unawareness and misleading market behavior can endanger health, leading to poisoning and diseases, emphasizing the need for simple screening tests and vigilant consumers .

Consumers can avoid purchasing adulterated foods by thoroughly examining the food visually for any foreign matters or insects, reading labels for ingredient and nutritional information, purchasing food from reputed and hygienic sources, avoiding pre-cut fruits, and preferring certified foods .

Reading food labels is important as it informs consumers about the ingredients, nutritional value, and freshness of the food, helping them to avoid products with toxic contaminants and ensuring the selection of wholesome food. It also allows them to check for the period of best use .

AGMARK certifies food products for their quality, contributing to food safety by promoting the grading and standardization of agricultural and allied commodities. This organization helps in ensuring that consumers receive safe and quality food products .

The Prevention of Food Adulteration Bill was introduced in the Parliament to address the rampant food adulteration issues in India, marking a significant governmental effort to protect consumers. It aimed to establish comprehensive legislation as a drastic remedy to combat the widespread and persistent problem of adulteration and improve consumer rights and welfare .

A simple test for detecting dyes in fat involves heating 1 mL of fat with a mixture of 1 mL of conc. H2SO4 and 4 mL of acetic acid. The appearance of pink or red color indicates the presence of dye in the fat .

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