What is Food Adulteration?
Food adulteration is mixing lower and inferior quality products to food and removing original value of the food. It is done by food producers and retailers to produce food more captivated, cheap, enhance the quantity and other things to deceive their customers. It also helps them earn good profit. But it is very harmful to eating such foods. Adulteration may contains additives, artificial colors, dyes, metallic contaminants, etc. These products can lead to dangerous impacts in our health few times if taken in large amount.
TYPES OF FOOD ADULTERATION:
There are about three main types of Food Adulteration. Let's one by one with examples:
Intentional adulteration:
Incidental Adulteration:
Metallic adulteration:
METHODS OF FOOD ADULTERATION:
1. Mixing:
In this method Adding of clay, stones, pebbles, sand, marble chips, etc.
2. Substitution:
In this method Cheaper and inferior substances being replaced wholly or partially with good ones.
3. Concealing quality:
Trying to hide the food standard. Adding captions of qualitative food to lower quality for selling.
4. Decomposed food:
This method is mainly used for fruits and vegetables. The decomposed ones are mixed with good ones
5.Misbranding/ False labels:
Includes duplicate foodstuffs, changing of manufacture and expiry dates.
6. Addition of toxicants:
Mixing non-edible substances like argemone in mustard oil, low-quality preservatives, coloring agents, etc.
List of most adulterated food items in India and methods to check their purity:
Now, Here we discussed about the list of most adulterated food items in India and methods to check their purity.
1) Milk:
A research conducted by the FSSAI searched that milk is the most adulterated item in India with various adulterants. Few of the adulterants which are used in milk are water, chalk, urea, caustic soda & skimmed milk, while Khoya is adulterated with paper, refined oil and skimmed milk powder.
1) Put a drop of milk on a slope, if it flows down with a white spot behind, then it is pure milk. Else, it contains water.
2) Mix one half cup of milk with half cup of water in a bottle and shake well. If we look foam or lather, it included detergent.
3) Warm the milk and if we see a yellowish lather on top of it, then it is synthetic milk.
2) Green chillies:
3) Tea leaves:
1) Tea leaves are generally adulterated with similar coloured leaves, few might not even be edible.
1) Rub leaves on white paper, artificial colour comes out on paper.
2) If there are iron filings, move a magnet through the sample. Iron will attracted by the magnet.
4) Honey:
Honey is generally adulterated with molasses sugar to enhance the bottle quantity.
1) Take a cotton ball in honey and burn it. If it burns fastly, then it is pure honey, else it's not.
OR2) In a glass of water, put 1 tablespoon of honey, if it settles down in the glass then it is pure. If it dissolves fastly, then it is adulterated.
5) Turmeric Powder:
Turmeric powder is commonly adulterated with dangerous colours and chalk powders.
1) Mixed one tablespoon of turmeric powder in a glass of warm water.
2) Don't shake or stir.
If the powder settles at the bottom after 15-20 minutes, then it is pure. If it gets dissolved, then it can be adulterated.
6) Ghee:
Ghee is usually adulterated with vegetable oil, starch and vanaspati etc.
1) Boil a tablespoon of ghee and pour in a glass jar and fridge till it becomes solid. If the layers are separated, then the ghee is impure.
2) Mix a pinch of sugar to a tablespoon of melted ghee in a bottle. Shake well. Check it after 5 minutes, if we look the colour change to red, then iincluded vegetable oil.
7) Pulses:
Artificial colours are mixed to the pulses to give it a shine and rich colour.
1) Grind few pulses to get a powdery texture.
2) Mix warm water to it, if we see a bright yellow colour, then it can be artificial colour.
8) Cumin seeds:
Cumin seeds are added with grass seeds coloured with charcoal.
1) Rub the cumin seeds on your palm. If palm turns black, it means adulteration.
9) Red Chilli Powder:
Red Chilli powder is adding with artificial colours and brick powder.
1) Add a tablespoon of red chilli powder in a glass of water.
2) Stir or mix well.
If the particles have settled down, it can be brick powder and if you see the colour of the water change to bright red, then it can be artificial colours.
10) Sugar:
1) Unadulterated sugar, when mixed to a glass of water, will sink directly to the bottom. But if it has chalk powder in it, the adulterants will remain at the surface of the water.
11) Black pepper:
12) Salt:
Salt is commonly added with chalk powder.
1) Mix a tablespoon of salt in a glass of water, if the water turns white in colour and some particles settle at the bottom, then it is chalk powder.
13) Ice cream:
Ice cream is adulterated with Washing powder and other toxic substances.
How to check purity of Ice cream?
1) Put few drops of lemon juice, bubbles are observed if washing powder is present.
Food adulteration is a very big problem in India and it is the method of lowering the quality of food substances by either mixing toxic substances or removing valuable substances from them.
Traders and manufacturers all over India indulge in such activities to exploit gullible consumers to make instant money. Pay attention to how companies take advantage of their customers.
