What is adulteration? An adulterant is a chemical substance which should not be contained within other substances (e.g.

food, beverages, and fuels) for legal or other reasons. The addition of adulterants is called adulteration.
Simple Screening test for Detecting Adulteration in Common Food S.No
1

Food article
Vegetable oil

Adulteration
Castor oil

Test
Take 1 ml. of oil in a clean dry test tube. Add 10 ml. Of acidified petroleum ether. Shake vigorously for 2 minutes. Add 1 drop of Ammonium Molybdate reagent. The formation of turbidity indicates presence of Castor oil in the sample. Add 5 ml, conc. HNO3 to 5 ml.sample. Shake carefully. Allow to separate yellow, orange yellow, crimson colour in the lower acid layer indicates adulteration. Boil 5 ml. Of the sample in a test tube. Cool and a drop of iodine solution. Blue colour indicates presence of Starch. colour disappears on boiling & reappears on cooling. Take 5 ml. Of the sample in a test tube. Add 5 ml. Of Hydrochloric acid and 0.4 ml of 2% furfural solution or sugar crystals. Insert the glass stopper and shake for 2 minutes. Development of a pink or red colour indicates presence of Vanaspati in Ghee. Take one teaspoon of melted sample and 5 ml. Of HCl in a stoppered glass tube. Shake vigorously for 30 seconds. Add 5 ml. Of 0.1% of ether solution of Phloroglucinol. Restopper & shake for 30 seconds and allow to stand for 10 minutes. A pink or red colour in the lower(acid layer) indicates rancidity. Pour 2 gms. Of filtered fat dissolved in ether. Divide into 2 portions. Add 1 ml. Of HCl to one tube. Add 1 ml. Of 10% NaOH to the other tube. Shake well and allow to stand. Presence of pink colour in acidic solution or yellow colour in alkaline solution indicates added colouring matter. 1. Fiehes Test: Add 5 ml. Of solvent ether to 5 ml. Of honey. Shake well and decant the ether layer in a petri dish. Evaporate completely by blowing the ether layer. Add 2 to 3 ml. Of resorcinol (1 gm. Of resorcinol resublimed in 5 ml. Of conc. HCl.) Appearance of cherry red colour indicates presence of sugar/jaggery. 2. Aniline Chloride Test : Take 5 ml. Of honey in a porcelain dish. Add Aniline Chloride solution (3 ml of Aniline and 7 ml. Of 1:3 HCl) and stir well. Orange red colour indicates presence of sugar. Add 50 ml. Of dil.HCl to a small quantity of dal and

Argemone oil

Ghee

Mashed Potato Sweet Potato, etc.

Vanaspati

Rancid stuff (old ghee)

Synthetic Colouring Matter

Honey

Invert sugar/jaggery

4.

Pulses/Besan

Kesari

dal(Lathyrus sativus) 5 Pulses Metanil Yellow(dye)

Lead Chromate

6 7

Bajra Wheat flour

Ergot infested Bajra Excessive sand & dirt Excessive bran Chalk powder

Common spices like Turmeric, chilly, curry powder,etc.

Colour

Black Pepper

Papaya seeds/light berries, etc. Powdered bran and saw dust Dung powder Common salt

10 11

Spices(Ground) Coriander powder

12

Chillies

Brick powder grit, sand, dirt, filth, etc. Choti seeds Elaichi

13

Badi Elaichi seeds

14

Turmeric Powder

Starch of maize, wheat, tapioca, rice Lead Chromate

15

Turmeric

Metanil Yellow

16

Cumin seeds

Grass

seeds

keep on simmering water for about 15 minutes. The pink colour, if developed indicates the presence of Kesari dal. Add conc.HCl to a small quantity of dal in a little amount of water. Immediate development of pink colour indicates the presence of metanil yellow and similar colour dyes. Shake 5 gm. Of pulse with 5 ml. Of water and add a few drops of HCl. Pink colour indicates Lead Chromate. Swollen and black Ergot infested grains will turn light in weight and will float also in water Shake a little quantity of sample with about 10 ml. Of Carbon tetra chloride and allow to stand. Grit and sandy matter will collect at the bottom. Sprinkle on water surface. Bran will float on the surface. Shake sample with dil.HCl Effervescence indicates chalk. Extract the sample with Petroleum ether and add 13N H2SO4to the extract. Appearance of red colour (which persists even upon adding little distilled water) indicates the presence of added colours. However, if the colour disappears upon adding distilled water the sample is not adulterated. Pour the seeds in a beaker containing Carbon tetrachloride. Black papaya seeds float on the top while the pure black pepper seeds settle down. Sprinkle on water surface. Powdered bran and sawdust float on the surface. Soak in water. Dung will float and can be easily detected by its foul smell. To 5 ml. Of sample add a few drops of silver nitrate. White precipitate indicates adulteration. Pour the sample in a beaker containing a mixture of chloroform and carbon tetrachloride. Brick powder and grit will settle at the bottom. Separate out the seeds by physical examination. The seeds of Badi Elaichi have nearly plain surface without wrinkles or streaks while seeds of cardamom have pitted or wrinkled ends. A microscopic study reveals that only pure turmeric is yellow coloured, big in size and has an angular structure. While foreign/added starches are colourless and small in size as compared to pure turmeric starch. Ash the sample. Dissolve it in 1:7 Sulphuric acid (H2SO4) and filter. Add 1 or 2 drops of 0.1% dipenylcarbazide. A pink colour indicates presence of Lead Chromate. Add few drops of conc.Hydrochloric acid (HCl) to sample. Instant appearance of violet colour, which disappears on dilution with water, indicates pure turmeric. If colour persists Metanil yellow is present. Rub the cumin seeds on palms. If palms turn black

(Black jeera) 17 Asafoetida(Heeng)

coloured with charcoal dust Soap stone, other earthy matter Chalk

adulteration in indicated. Shake a little quantity of powdered sample with water. Soap stone or other earthy matter will settle at the bottom. Shake sample with Carbon tetrachloride (CCl4). Asafoetida will settle down. Decant the top layer and add dil.HCl to the residue. Effervescence shows presence of chalk. Take a filter paper impregnated with Ninhydrin (1% in alcohol.) Put some grains on it and then fold the filter paper and crush the grains with hammer. Spots of bluish purple colour indicate presence of hidden insects infestation

18

Foodgrains

Hidden infestation

insect

Food Adulteration A Threat to Consumers:

One is familiar with the famous saying of one of the past prime ministers of India describing corruption as universal and not confined to India. Same appears to be true with food adulteration also. It is surprising that the fraudsters are always one step ahead of the safety agencies when it comes to detecting adulteration and their techniques are increasingly becoming more and more sophisticated with time. Food frauds literally constitute a high tech industry because of the enormous economic gains inherent in adulteration. Interestingly costlier the food product, more incentive is available for evolving appropriate methods to mimic the original product with cheap alternatives.

Food Adulteration
Categories
Replacement:
Complete or partial replacement of a food ingredient or valuable authentic

constituent with less expensive substitute with the intention of circumventing on origin and false declaration of the process.

Addition:
Addition of small amounts of non-authenticated substances to mask inferior quality ingredient.

Removal:
Removal of authentic and valuable constituent without purchasers knowledge

Reasons:
When supply is less than demand To cut down the product costs to meet the market competition. To earn more profits. Shortage of authentic ingredients at affordable prices. Shortage of qualified personnel and no updation of processing techniques. Inadequate knowledge on the consequences and associated food safety risks.

Lack of awareness and updation of the information on the adulteration related food safety outbreaks.

Adulteration
Adulteration in water: Water that has been adequately chlorinated, by using the minimum recommended water treatment standard provide protection against viral and bacterial waterborne diseases. However, chlorine treatment alone, as used in the routine disinfection of water, might not kill some enteric viruses and the parasitic organisms that cause giardiasis, amoebiasis, and cryptosporidiosis. In areas where chlorinated tap water is not available or where hygiene and sanitation are poor, one is advised that only the following might be safe to drink: Beverages, such as tea and coffee, made with boiled water The safety of canned or bottled carbonated beverages, including carbonated bottled water and soft drinks is questionable nowadays. Where water might be contaminated, one is advised that ice should also be considered contaminated and should not be used in beverages. If ice has been in contact with containers used for drinking, one should thoroughly clean the containers, preferably with soap and hot water, after the ice has been discarded. It is safer to drink a beverage directly from the can or bottle than from a questionable container. However, water on the outside of beverage cans or bottles might also be contaminated. Therefore, one should be advised to dry
V. Lakshmi et al., IJSIT, 2012, 1(2), 106-113

IJSIT (www.ijsit.com), Volume 1, Issue 2, November-December 2012

110
wet cans or bottles before they are opened and to wipe clean surfaces with which the mouth will have direct contact. Where water might be contaminated, one is advised to avoid brushing their teeth with tap water. The following methods may be used for treating water to make it safe for drinking and other purposes. Water filters Proper selection, operation, care, and maintenance of water filters are essential to producing safe water. If no source of safe drinking water is available or can be obtained, tap water that is uncomfortably hot to touch might be safer than cold tap water; however, proper disinfection, filtering, or boiling is still advised.

Food Adulteration Control Approach

Integrated approach through out the food chain involving all the stake holders : - Statutory & regulatory authorities - Industry - Scientific community - Consumers / end-users Through regular update of information regarding reported

outbreaks of food safety issues pertaining to adulteration.

Statutory and regulatory authorities:

Stipulating the practically feasible rules,

requirements and regulations on the adulterants and updating them at regular intervals. Stringent monitoring of the implementation. Regular interactions with the industry to understand their concerns.

Industry:

To feel more ethical and moral responsibility as food business operator to supply & serve wholesome food to the society. Regular updates on the process and allergen related outbreaks in the world. Risk assessment [probability x severity] for all the ingredients, additives & processing aids and processing techniques w.r.t. adulteration. Frequent testing of vulnerable ingredients, additives & processing aids for positive clearance w.r.t. allergens. Third party auditing of the process to identify existing & probable lacunae of the system.

Scientific Community:
To develop validated simple, quick and authentic test procedures to scan the ingredients, additives & processing

aids for positive clearance. To share the knowledge with the statutory bodies and Industry

Consumers/end users:
Proper understanding of the adulteration issues. To know difference between the natural and aesthetic attributes [texture, appearance & taste] of foods and accepting the natural ones to the extent possible.