2019-2020

CHEMISTRY
INVESTIGATORY PROJECT

BY RAKSHIT SINGH TOMAR

KENDRIYA VIDYALAYA NO.1, NSB, VSKP.

XII B 20654100
(CBSE ROLL NO.)
 KENDRIYA VIDYALAYA No.1,
NAUSENA BAUGH, VISAKHAPATNAM

CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that . RAKSHIT SINGH TOMAR-. roll no. .20654100 student ………………………………………

of class .XII-B –has successfully completed his

………….………
research on the below
mentioned project under the able guidance and supervision of

.Mrs G. ARUNA-(PGT, Chemistry) during the year .2019-2020 .in the partial
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….…… ……………………..…………………

fulfilment of the Chemistry Practical Examination conducted by CBSE.

Aim of the Project: .TO STUDY SOME COMMON FOOD ADULTERANTS
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….……………………..………

Date: ………………… Teacher In-charge: ………………………….

…………………………. ..…………………………
Examiner’s Signature Principal’s Signature
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
" There are times when silence speaks so much more loudly
than words of praise to only as good as belittle a person,
whose words do not express, but only put a veneer over true
feelings, which are of gratitude at this point of time. "

I would like to express a deep sense of thanks and

gratitude to my teacher Mrs G. Aruna ma’am for guiding me
immensely through the course of the project. She always
evinced keen interest in my work. Her constructive advice and
constant motivation have been responsible for the successful
completion of this project.

I am also thankful to our principal sir, Shri SK Dash for

his immense support and guidance.

At last but not least, gratitude to my parents for their

support and encouragement. I would also like to express
gratitude to my friends who helped me (directly or indirectly)
to complete this project within a limited time frame.

 

p rRakshit Singh Tomar

 CONTENTS

Certificate ……………………………………………………………………………………….. (i)

Acknowledgement………………………………………………………………………… . (ii)

1. Objective ……………………………………………………………. 1
2. Introduction…………………………………………………… 2
3. Theory……………………………………………………… 3-14
4. Experiment-1… 15
5. Experiment-2… 16
6. Experiment-3 17-18
7. Experiment-4 19-20
8. Experiment-5 21-22
Observation 23-24
9. Precautions /Experiment & Result 25
10. Precautions & Conclusion 26-27

Bibliography ……………………………………………………………………………… (iii)

…
…………………………………
 FOOD ADULTERATION
INVESTIGATORY PROJECT

BY RAKSHIT SINGH TOMAR

 OBJECTIVE

Study :-
1
To study some of the common food adulterants
present in different food stuffs and tests to
determine their presence.

Test :-
2
Identification of the adulterants present in
common food stuffs.

Conclusion :-
3 Conclusion along with some precautions

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Chemistry Investigatory Project Rakshit Singh Tomar | 1

 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 in food is normally present in its most crude form;

prohibited substances are either added or partly or wholly
substituted. Normally the contamination/adulteration in food is
done either for financial gain or due to carelessness and lack in
proper hygienic condition of processing, storing, transportation
and marketing. This ultimately results that the consumer is either
cheated or often become victim of diseases. Such types of
adulteration are quite common in developing countries or
backward countries. It is equally important for the consumer to
know the common adulterants and their effect on health.

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 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 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
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 commodities.

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 Common Tests for detection of some food adulterants:-

Milk & Milk Products

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Test 1 : Detection of detergent in milk

Testing Method:

 Take 5 to 10ml of sample with an equal amount of water.

 Shake the contents thoroughly.
 If milk is adulterated with detergent, it forms dense lather.
 Pure milk will form very thin foam layer due to agitation.

Test 2 : Detection of starch in milk and milk products

Testing Method:

 Boil 2-3 ml of sample with 5ml of water.

 Cool and add 2-3 drops of tincture of iodine.
 Formation of blue colour indicates the presence of starch.
(In the case of milk, addition of water and boiling is not required)

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 Test 3 : Detection of mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes and
other starches in ghee/butter

Testing Method:

 Take ½ teaspoon of ghee/butter in a transparent glass bowl.

 Add 2-3 drops of tincture of iodine.
 Formation of blue colour indicates the presence of mashed potatoes, sweet
potatoes and other starches.

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 Oil and Fats
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Test 1 : Detection of other oils in coconut oil

Testing Method:

 Take coconut oil in a transparent glass.

 Place this glass in refrigerator for 30 minutes.(Do not keep in the freezer)
 After refrigeration, coconut oil solidifies.
 If coconut oil is adulterated, then other oils remain as a separate layer.

Test 2 : Detection of TOCP (Tri-Ortho-Cresyl-Phosphate) in oils

and fats

Testing Method:

 Take 2ml of sample of oil.

 Add on a little amount of yellow butter (Solid).
 Immediate formation of red colour indicates the presence of TOCP.

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 Sugar & Confectionery
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Test 1 : Detection of sugar solution in honey

Testing Method:

 Take a transparent glass of water.

 Add a drop of honey to the glass.
 Pure honey will not disperse in water.
 If the drop of honey disperses in water, it indicates the presence of added
sugar.

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 Test 2 : Detection of chalk powder in sugar/pithi sugar/jaggery

Testing Method:

 Take a transparent glass of water.

 Dissolve 10g of sample in water.
 If sugar/pithi sugar/jaggery is mixed with chalk, the adulterant will settle
down at the bottom.

Food Grains & Its Products

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Test 1 : Detection of extraneous matter (dust, pebble, stone,

straw, weed seeds, damaged grain, weeviled grain,
insects, rodent hair and excreta) in food grains

Testing Method:

 Take small quantity of sample in a glass plate.

 Examine the impurities visually.
 Pure food grains will not have any such impurities.
 Impurities are observed visually in adulterated food grains.

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 Test 2 : Detection of excess bran in wheat flour

Testing Method:

 Take a transparent glass of water.

 Sprinkle a spoon of wheat flour on the surface of water.
 Pure wheat flour will not show excess bran on water surface.
 Impurities are observed visually in adulterated food grains.

Test 3 : Detection of rhodamine B in ragi

Testing Method:

 Take cotton ball soaked in water or vegetable oil. (conduct the test
separately).
 Rub the outer surface of the ragi.
 If cotton absorbs colour, then it indicates the adulteration of rhodamine B
for colouring the outer surface of ragi.

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 Salt, Spices & Condiments
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Test 1 : Detection of foreign resin in asafoetida (hing)

Testing Method:

 Burn small quantity of asafoetida in a stainless steel spoon.

 Pure asafoetida will burn like camphor.
 Adulterated asafoetida will not produce bright flame like camphor.

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 Test 2 : Detection of chalk in common salt

Testing Method:

 Stir a spoonful of sample of salt in a glass of water.

 The presence of chalk will make solution white and other insoluble
impurities will settle down.

Test 3 : Differentiation of common salt and iodised salt

Testing Method:

 Cut a piece of potato, add salt and wait for a minute.

 Add two drops of lemon juice.
 If it is iodised salt, blue colour will develop.
 In the case of common salt, there will be no blue colour.

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 Test 4 : Detection of artificial colour in turmeric powder

Testing Method:

 Add a teaspoon of turmeric powder in a glass of water.

 Natural turmeric powder leaves light yellow colour while settling down.
 Adulterated turmeric powder will leave a strong yellow colour in water
while settling down.

Fruits & Vegetables

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Test 1 : Detection of malachite green in green vegetables like

bitter gound, green chilli and others.

Testing Method:

 Take a cotton piece soaked in water or vegetable oil. (conduct the test
separately).
 Rub the outer green surface of a small part of green vegetable/chilli.
 If the cotton turns green, then it is adulterated with malachite green.

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 Test 2 : Detection of rhodamine B in sweet potato.

Testing Method:

 Take a cotton ball soaked in water or vegetable oil. (conduct the test
separately).
 Rub the outer red surface of the sweet potato.
 If cotton absorbs colour, then it indicates the usage of rhodamine B for
colouring the outer surface of sweet potato.

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 Beverages
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Test 1 : Detection of chicory powder in coffee powder

Testing Method:

 Take a transparent glass of water.

 Add a teaspoon of coffee powder.
 Coffee powder floats over the water but chicory begins to sink

Test 2 : Detection of exhausted tea in tea leaves

Testing Method:

 Take small amount of tea leaves/ dust and place it in the centre of a filter
paper.
 Add water drop by drop at the heap of the tea leaves/ dust.
 If the tea is adulterated with a coloured tea, water will dissolve the added
colour and leave streak of colour in the filter paper.

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 EXPERIMENT-1
AIM :

TO DETECT THE PRESENCE OF ADULTERANTS IN FAT, OIL AND

BUTTER.

APPARATUS REQUIRED :

Test-tube, acetic anhydride, conc. H2SO4, acetic acid, conc.

HNO3.

PROCEDURE :

Common adulterants present in ghee and oil are paraffin wax,

hydrocarbons, dyes andargemone oil. These are detected as follows :
(i) Adulteration of paraffin 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.
(ii) Adulteration of dyes in fat Heat 1mL of fat with a mixture
of 1 mL of conc. sulphuric acid and 4 mL of acetic acid.
Appearance of pink or red colour indicates presence of
dye in fat.
(iii) 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.
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 EXPERIMENT-2

AIM :

TO DETECT THE PRESENCE OF ADULTERANTS IN SUGAR.

APPARATUS REQUIRED :

Test-tubes, dil. HCl.

PROCEDURE :

Sugar is usually contaminated with washing soda and other

insoluble substances which are detected as follows :

(i) Adulteration of various insoluble substances in sugar

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

(ii) Adulteration of chalk powder, washing soda in sugar.

To small amount of sugar in a test-tube, add few drops of
HCl. Brisk effervescence of CO2 shows the presence of
chalk powder or washing soda in the given sample of sugar.

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 EXPERIMENT-3

AIM :

DETECTION OF KHESARI DAL IN BESON.

APPARATUS REQUIRED :

Test-Tubes, dil. HCl.

PROCEDURE :

To 1g of the beson sample is taken in a test tube and 10 mL of

70% HCl is added to it.The content is boiled for some time.

THEORY :

Beson powder is usually adulterated with khesari dal which contains

butyl oxalyl alanine amine (BOAA) which causes lethargy and
ultimate paralysis in lower limbs of human body on regular
consumption.
The detection of BOAA in beson powder indicates adulteration of
it with khesari dal. Development of pinkish colour indicates
adulteration of bason with khesari dal.

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 Table for different samples-

SNO. SAMPLES RESULT

1. Open sample Adulterant present.

2. Packed sample Adulterant present.

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 EXPERIMENT-4

AIM :

DETECTION OF STARCH IN MILK.

APPARATUS REQUIRED :

Test-Tubes, Iodine solution.

THEORY :

Along with water, a very common adulterant of milk is starch .

Milk consist of three basic components which are as follows :

(i) Water (about 80%).

(ii) Fat (about 3.5%).
(iii) Solids containing protein, lactose.
(iv) Mineral matters (about 8.5%).

Milk is adulterated with starch to maintain the thickness of fat

extracted milk or diluted milk.

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 PROCEDURE :

At first 5 mL of milk ample is taken in a test tube and is boiled for

3-4 minutes.
Then it is cooled and 1-2 drops of iodine solution is added to it
and is shaked well.
Appearance of blue colour indicates the presence of starch in the
sample.

Table for different samples :-

S.NO SAMPLES RESULT

1. Diary milk Adulterant present

2. Nestle Everyday Adulterant absent
3. Amul Adulterant absent

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 EXPERIMENT-5

AIM :

TO DETECT THE PRESENCE OF ADULTERANTS IN SAMPLES OF CHILLI

POWDER, TURMERIC POWDER AND PEPPER.

APPARATUS REQUIRED :

Test-tubes, conc. HCl , dil. HNO3 , KI solution.

PROCEDURE :

Common adulterants present in chilli powder, turmeric powder and

pepper are red coloured lead salts, yellow lead salts and dried papaya
seeds respectively. They are detected as follows :

(i) Adulteration of red lead salts in chilli powder To a

sample of chilli powder, add dil. HNO3. Filter the dil.
solution and add 2 drops of potassium iodide solution to
the filtrate. Yellow ppt. indicates the presence of lead
salts in chilli powder.

(ii) Adulteration of yellow lead salts to turmeric powder To a

sample of turmeric powder add conc. HCl. Appearance of
magenta colour shows the presence of yellow oxides of
lead in turmeric powder.
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 (iii) Adulteration of brick powder in red chilli powder Add
small amount of given red chilli powder in beaker
containing water. Brick powder settles at the bottom
while pure chilli powder floats over water.

(iv) Adulteration of dried papaya seeds in pepper Add small

amount of sample of pepper to a beaker containing water
and stir with a glass rod. Dried papaya seeds being lighter
float over water while pure pepper settles at the bottom.

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 OBSERVATION

SNO. EXPERIMENT PROCEDURE OBSERVATION

1. Adulteration of Heat small amount of Appearance of oil

paraffin wax and vegetable ghee with floating on the
hydrocarbon in acetic anhydride. surface.
vegetable ghee
Droplets of oil floating
on the surface of unused
acetic anhydride indicate
the presence of wax or
hydrocarbon.

2. Adulteration of Heat 1mL of fat with a Appearance of

dyes in fat mixture of 1mL of conc. pink colour.
H2SO4 and 4 mL of
acetic acid.

3. Adulteration of To small amount of oil No red colour

argemone oil in in a test tube, add few observed
edible oils drops of conc. HNO3 &
shake.

4. Adulteration of Take small amount of Pure sugar

various insoluble sugar in a test tube and dissolves in water
substances in shake it with little water. but insoluble
sugar impurities do not
dissolve.

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 Adulteration of To small amount of sugar No brisk
5. chalk powder, in a test tube, add a few effervescence
washing soda in drops of dil. HCl. observed
sugar

6. Adulteration of To sample of turmeric Appearance of

yellow lead salts powder, add conc. HCl. magenta colour
to turmeric
powder

7. Adulteration of To a sample of chilli No yellow

red lead salts in powder, add dil. HNO3. precipitate.
chilli powder
Filter the solution and
add 2 drops of KI
solution to the filtrate.

8. Adulteration of Add small amount of Brick powder

brick powder in given red chilli powder settles at the
chilli powder in a beaker containing bottom while
water. pure chilli
powder floats
over water.

9. Adulteration of Add small amount of Dried papaya

dried papaya sample of pepper to seeds being
seeds in pepper beaker containing water lighter float over
and stir with a glass rod. water while pure
pepper settles at
the bottom.

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 PRECAUTIONS /EXPERIMENT

(a) Always use an apron, an eye protector and hand gloves

…..while working in the chemistry laboratory.

(b) Before using any reagent or a chemical,

read the label on the bottle carefully.
Never use unlabelled reagent.

(c) Do not mix chemicals and reagents

unnecessarily. Never taste any chemical.

(d) Be careful in smelling chemicals..or

vapours. Always fan the vapours gently
towards your nose. (Refer to fig P.1)

(e) Never add sodium metal to water or

throw it in the sink or dustbin.
Fig. P.1
(f) Always pour acid into water for dilution. How to smell a gas
Never add water to acid.

(h) Be careful while dealing with the explosive compounds , …..

inflammable substances, poisonous gases, electric …. .
appliances, glass wares, flame and the hot substances.

RESULT
The required analyses for adulterants in food stuffs has been made.
(g) Be careful while heating the test
tube. The test tube should never
point towards yourself or towards
your neighbours while heating or
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a reagent. Project Rakshit Singh Tomar | 25
 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 coloured sweets and buy only

from reputed shops.

6. Do not buys sweets or snacks kept in open.

7. Avoid buying things from street side vendors.

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 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.

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 BIBLIOGRAPHY

https://www.google.com https://www.wikipedia.org

https://www.fssai.gov.in/

https://www.quora.com
https://www.britannica.com