INVESTIGATORY PROJECT CHEMISTRY

TO DETECT THE PRESENCE OF

ADULTERANTS IN SUGAR.

GUIDED BY:

DONE BY:
 CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that of

class
has successfully completed
the project on the topic

under the guidance of in

session

Internal examiner External examiner

PRINCIPAL
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I would like to thank the CBSE, for providing me the
opportunity to carry out the investigatory project. I also
take this opportunity to express my sincere gratitude to my
chemistry teacher MS. PRIYADARSHINI for guiding me
and improving a sound base of knowledge pertaining to this
project which ensures the successful completion of this
project.
I wish to express my great thanks to my principal
MR. S. KRISHNASAMY who helped me to
accomplish this project by providing me with all
necessary facilities and support.
 INDEX

 INTRODUCTION………………………………

 AIM……………………………………………..

 OBJECTIVE……………………………………

 THEORY……………………………………….

 REQUIREMENTS…………………………….

 PROCEDURE…………………………………..

 OBSERVATIONS……………………………...

 RESULT………………………………………..

 CONCLUSION…………………………………

 BIBLIOGRAPHY……………………………..
INTRODUCTION:

Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble

carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple
sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose,
fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called
disaccharides or double sugars, are molecules made of
two bonded monosaccharides: common examples are
sucrose (glucose-fructose), lactose(glucose +
galactose), and maltose(two molecules of glucose).
White sugar is a refined form of sucrose. In the body,
compound sugars are hydrolyzed into simple sugars.
Food is the basic necessity of life. The food we eat is
absorbed by our body and is used to run metabolic
processes and sustain life. Food is essential for growth,
and various life processes. An array of food in our
daily diet includes vegetables, fruits, legumes, pulses,
grains, etc. All of these are either consumed raw or
made into delicacies and savored. But, nowadays, you
might have seen very thin milk due to mixing with
water, white, yellow, or black pebbles in raw pulses,
tiny white stones mixed with rice, and so on. This
mixing of elements with food items is adulteration.
As we deal with the overgrowing population,
environmental hazards, and depleting natural
resources, one of the man-made hazards is the
adulteration of food. When food is contaminated with
external sources or when its natural composition or
quality is changed, it is adulterated. Food adulteration
has serious effects on our health. Despite various
measures taken by the government, spreading
awareness about the hazards of food adulteration is a
prevalent practice in many countries. Various methods
of food adulteration are deployed by the food industries
using various chemical and synthetic substances. The
article encompasses the discussion of food
adulteration, types, and methods below.

What is Food Adulteration?:

Adulteration is a legal offense and when the food fails to
meet the legal standards set by the government, it is said
to have been adulterated. Food adulteration takes place
when intentionally or unintentionally substances that
degrade the quality of food are added to it. Thus, food
adulteration can be defined as the contamination or
adulteration of food or food materials by adding harmful
substances to it.
What is Adulterant?:
The substances that lower the quality of food, when
added to it, are called adulterants. It is a substance
found within other food substances that hamper the
natural quality of the food. The adulterant may be
present in any form and in any quantity. Adulterants
are mostly harmful and pose the ability to lower the
potency of the product. Even if the adulterant is not
harmful, it reduces the nutritional value of the food to a
greater extent. Some adulterants are also identified as
carcinogenic or lethal when exposed to them for a
longer period. Different types of adulterants are used to
adulterate different types of food.

When is Food Considered Adulterated?:

There are some conditions that are required to conclude

whether a food is adulterated or not. These points are
summarised below.
 A substance that degrades the quality of food or
turns it hazardous is added to it.
 Cheaper or low-quality substances are used as
a substitute for whole or a few ingredients.
 A constituent of food is partly or wholly taken
 out, reducing the quality of food.
 It’s made presentable with harmful substances. Or
its color is changed to make it look better.
 Anything that depreciates the quality of food is
added to or abstracted from it.

Examples of Food Adulteration:

Some of the examples of food adulteration are listed

below.

 Mixing of pulses with sand particles, and pebbles.

 Mixing of milk with water.
 Mixing oil with chemical derivatives or cheaper oils.
 Packing low-quality food products with fresh
and high-quality ones.
 These are a few examples of food adulteration.
Why is Food Adulteration Done?:

For many years, you might have noticed the practice of

adding water to milk to increase its quantity and gain
more profit from less volume of milk. Similarly, food
adulteration is done by food manufacturers and
industries for various reasons.
1. Food adulteration is practiced as a part of a
business strategy to gain more profit by cheaper
means.
2. It is also done to make the food presentable and as
an imitation of some other food which is more in
demand.
3. Food adulteration is often done by those who do
not have a proper understanding of its hazards.
Due to a lack of awareness and proper knowledge,
it is still widely practiced.
4. Adulteration increases the weight of the food,
helps gain more profit, and increases sales in
cheaper ways.
5. The increasing rate of the population also plays
a major role in food adulteration.
6. The inefficiency of government initiatives to
control it.
Types of Food Adulteration:

There are four different types of food adulteration.

 Intentional Adulteration:- When substances that

look similar to the constituents of the food are
added to it, to increase its weight and gain more
profit. Example- mixing of pebbles, stones,
marbles, sand, mud, filth, chalk powder,
contaminated water, etc.
 Incidental Adulteration:- Incidental adulteration
occurs due to negligence while handling food. Like
residues of pesticides in grains, larvae growth,
presence of droppings of rodents, etc.
 Metallic Adulteration:- The addition of metallic
materials into food like lead or mercury is metallic
adulteration. It may happen accidentally or even
intentionally.
AIM:

To detect the presence of food adulterants in sugar

which is consumed by us in our daily life basis.
 OBJECTIVE:

Food is one of the basic necessities for sustenance of life.

A pure, Fresh, and healthy diet is essential for the
health of the people It is no wonder to say that
community health is national wealth.
Adulteration of foodstuffs was so rampant, widespread,
and persistent that nothing short of a comprehensive
that nothing short of somewhat drastic remedy in the
form of comprehensive legislation became the need of
the hour.
To check this kind of antisocial evil a concerted and
determined onslaught was launched by the government
by the 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 microscopical knowledge had reached the stage
where food substances could be analysed, 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 importe d 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 behaviour 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 series problems. Consumption of
adulterated food causes serious diseases like cancer,
diarrhea, asthma, ulcers, etc. The majority of fats,
oils, and butter are paraffin wax, castor oil, and
hydrocarbons. Red chili powder is mixed with brick
powder and pepper is mixed with dried papaya seeds.
 REQUIREMENTS:
 Test tubes,
 Concentrated HCl,
 Dilute HNO3 ,
 KI solution.

PROCEDURE:
Sugar is usually contaminated with washing soda
and other insoluble substances which are detected as
follows :

 Adulteration of various insoluble substances in

sugar.
Take a small amount of sugar in a test tube and shake
it with a little water. Pure sugar dissolves in water but
insoluble impurities do not dissolve.

 Adulteration of chalk powder, washing soda in

sugar.
To make a small amount of sugar in a test tube, add a
few drops of HCI. The brisk effervescence of CO2
shows the presence of chalk powder or washing soda
in the given sample of sugar.
OBSERVATIONS:
 In the experiment adulteration of various
insoluble substances in sugar, we observe that pure
sugar dissolves in the solution but insoluble
impurities don't dissolve.
 In the experiment adulteration of chalk powder,
and washing soda in sugar we observe no brisk
effervescence.

RESULT:
The required analysis for adulterants in sugar has been
done.

CONCLUSION:
 Selection Of wholesome and nonadulterated food is
essential for daily life to make sure that such foods do
not cause any health hazards.

 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 the absence of insects,
visual fungus, foreign matter, 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:

 Practical chemistry book class XI (Laxmi

publications).

 Wikipedia

 [Link]

 [Link]

 [Link]

 Adulteration Analysis of Some Foods and

Drugs book by Alankar Shrivastava