Index
Sr. no. Topics
1. Objectives
2. Introduction
3. Theory
4. Experiment 1
5. Experiment 2
6. Conclusion
7. Precautions
8. Health Impact of Adulterated Food
Objectives
1. To identify the presence of common adulterants in food
samples such as milk, sugar, tea, coffee, spices, oils, ghee,
and sweets.
2. To perform simple qualitative
tests for detecting harmful
adulterants using safe
laboratory reagents (e.g., iodine,
benedict’s reagent, HCl, water
tests).
3. To understand the impact of
adulteration on human health and the risks associated with
consumption of contaminated food.
4. To analyze why adulteration occurs, including economic
motives and lack of awareness among consumers.
5. To compare branded and unbranded food products to check
which are more likely to be adulterated.
6. To promote consumer awareness about safe food practices
and the importance of buying certified products (FSSAI).
Introduction
Adulteration is the act of intentionally debasing the quality of
food offered for sale either by mixture or substitution of
inferior substances or by the removal of some valuable
ingredient. In past few decades adulteration of food has
become one of the most serious problems.
Consumption of adulterated
food causes diseases like
cancer, asthma, ulcer, etc.
Majority of adulterants used by
the shopkeepers are cheap
substitutes which are easily
available.
In order to prevent adulteration of food products by
dishonest traders, the government has issued "The
Prevention of Food Adulteration Act'.
The Bureau of Indian Standards is the agency in India that
provides the certificate of reliability to food
manufacturers in India
Theory
We are very fortunate to be born a country which is blessed
with rich soil, diversified climate, many rivers and the great
Himalayas where almost all varieties of fruits, vegetables and
cereals, etc. can be grown. In ancient times, the land was in
abundance, the supply of food was more than the demand and
people used fresh food materials in most
natural form. The population spurt in our
country has given rise to unemployment
and poverty. The demand for food has
increased & our country has to import
food grains, oil etc. from other countries.
This shortage of food and ignorance of
consumers is the main cause for adulteration of
foodstuffs by the unscrupulous traders. It has become so
common that the consumers have to run from pillars to pillars
to get a foodstuff which is not adulterated. The consumers are
not aware of hazards of adulteration and pay heavily for
consuming adulterated food. If the consumer knows the ways
and means to check the commodities of daily use, they can save
themselves and their families from this mind-boggling problem.
Common Food
Adulterants
Experiment 1
AIM:
To test the presence of adulterant in fats, butter and oils.
Apparatus Required:
Test-tubes, beakers, test-tube stand, filter paper, dropper,
etc.
Chemicals Required:
For Desi Ghee & Butter – conc. HCl, sugar, small amounts
of vanaspati ghee or butter.
For Vegetable Ghee – conc. Acetic
anhydride, small amounts of
vegetable ghee.
For Oil – conc. Nitric Acid, small
amounts of edible oil.
Procedure:
In case of ordinary test for fats, butter and oils, put a small
amount of these separately on a filter paper. Fold it and
press, then unfold it. The presence of translucent spot
indicates the presence of oil or fat. Hold the filter paper
over flame, the spot grows larger.
Test for Oils –
Take 1 ml of mustard oil in a test tube and add few drops of
conc. HCl solution to it. Shake the mixture well. Appearance
of red color in the acid layer indicates the presence of
argemone oil in mustard oil.
Observations and Results:
Experiment 2
Aim:
To test the presence of adulterants in Sugar, Chilli Powder,
Turmeric Powder, Salt and Pepper
Apparatus Required:
Test-tubes, beakers, test-tube stand, dropper, glass rod,
etc.
Chemicals Required:
For Sugar – dil. H2SO4, water, sample of sugar.
For Chilli Powder – dil. HNO3, KI
solution, sample of chilli powder.
For Turmeric Powder – conc. HCl,
sample of turmeric powder.
For Pepper – water, sample of pepper.
For Salt – water
Procedure:
Tests for Sugar –
[Link] a small amount of sugar in a beaker and add some
amount of water to it. Stir the solution with a glass rod.
Pure sugar dissolves in the water whereas the insoluble
particles (chilli powder, washing powder etc.) floats on
the surface indicates the presence of adulterants.
[Link] 1 g of sugar in a test-tube &
add few drops of dil. HCl to it. A
brisk effervescence due to the
formation of CO, indicates chalk
powder or washing soda in the
given sample of sugar.
Tests for Chilli Powder –
a. Take a small amount of chilli powder in a test-tube & add
few drops of dil. HNO, to the test-tube. Shake the mixture
well & filter the solution. To the filtrate, add 2-
3 drops, of 10% KI solution. The presence of yellow
colored precipitate indicates the
presence of lead salts in chilli
powder.
b. Take a small amount of given red
chilli powder in a beaker & add
water to it. The pure chilli powder
floats over the surface of water whereas brick powder
settles at the bottom.
Tests for Turmeric Powder –
Take a small amount of turmeric powder in a test-tube &
to this add few drops of conc. HCl. The
color changes from yellow to violet or
magenta indicates the presence of
lead salts in turmeric powder.
Tests for Pepper –
Take a small amount of pepper in a
beaker & add water to it. Stir the
mixture with a glass rod. Dried
papaya seeds float over water &
pepper settles at the bottom. Add a
little salt to water. Chalk powder will
settle down.
Tests for Salt –
Add a little salt to water.
Chalk powder
will settle down.
Observations and Results:
Conclusions
The increasing number of food producers and the
outstanding amounts of imported food stuffs enables the
producers to mislead and cheat consumers. To differentiate
of those who take advantage of legal rules from the once
who commit food adulteration is very difficult. The
consciousness of consumers has become very crucial.
However, how can we expect consequent behavior from
them regarding controversial issues
emerging day by day? In addition,
ignorance and unfair market behaviors
is endangering consumer health. So,
we need sanctions and judicial
penalties with adequate restraining
force to halt this process.
We should take some precautions mentioned below.
Precautions
By taking a few precautions, we can escape from consuming
adulterated products:
1. Take only packed items of well-known companies.
2. Buy items from reliable retail shops and recognized
outlets.
3. Check the ISI mark or Ag mark.
4. Buy products of only air tight popular brands.
5. Avoid craziness for artificially colored sweets and buy only
from reputed shops.
6. Do not buy sweets or snacks kept in open.
7. Avoid buying things from
street side vendors.
Health Impact of
Adulterated Food
Food adulteration is a major source of health problems.
Adulterants of food products not only decrease the quality of
food but if we eat these adulterated food products daily, then
it affects our health very dangerously. For instance,
adulteration causes many
diseases such as cancer,
lathyrism, liver disease,
cardiac failure, kidney
diseases, and nervous
system-related diseases.
Furthermore, nearly
300,000 illnesses and six
known infant deaths were
reported in China in 2008.
Economically motivated adulteration is a root cause of public
health food risks. Although the motivations are economic, the
adulteration may result in serious public health consequences
when the adulterant is toxic or allergenic. For instance,
hydrogen peroxide affects antioxidants in the body disturbing
the natural immunity hence increasing aging, chloride in the
milk disturbs the acid–base balance in the body and also blood
pH, and ammonia in milk develops regression, loss of acquired
speech, and sensory disturbances.
Bibliography
For Successfully completing my project file. I have taken
help from the following website links and books:
➢NCERT
➢Lab Manual (Chemistry)
➢[Link]
➢[Link]
➢[Link]
➢[Link]
➢[Link]
➢[Link]
For Finalizing this Project……