INTRODUCTION

Most of us want to make easy money and usually it is on the

cost of health, of the citizens of our country. This is what exactly the

people engaged in Food Adulteration are doing these days to fulfill

their cheap interests. This is something we should be ashamed of. In

the past few decades food adulteration has engrossed up as a very

serious problem and it enlarges up as most of us do not know the

remedy of it.

Let us see what Food Adulteration actually means, The

Deliberate and alleged contamination of food materials with low

quality, cheap non-edible and toxic substances is called Food

Adulteration. The substances which when added to food materials

degrades their quality are called Food Adulterants. This problem has

grown in our society as a thorny Cactii and to get rid of it in reality

seems impossible.
How Food Adulteration Ruins Health

Following are some examples of adulteration of common food

stuff of daily use :

(A) Adulteration of Haldi Powder:-

Adulteration can ruin the health of the people. Haldi or Turmeric

Powder is a yellow coloured substance contained chromate (lead

chromate) as a food adulterant. This being heavy adds a lot of weight

to haldi powder, it is used as adulteratn as lead chromate is much

cheaper than pure haldi consumption of adulterated turmeric powder

can cause mental retardation and brain damage in children. It can also

cause anaemia and paralysis. Moreover, it can cause abortion in

women.

(B) Adulteration in Arhar Dal :-

Arhar Dal is adulterated with cheap and toxic Kesari Dal. Both

Arhar and Kesari Dal look alike but kesari dal is much more cheaper

than Arhar Dal.

long period of time causes lathyrism.

(c) Adulteration in Milk

Mixing water with milk and changing the price of pure milk is an

age old practice. Water mixed with milk does not cause any harm but

now-a-days milk men have started making synthetic milk which is

highly toxic and very harmful for health.

Now a days the demand or consumption of milk is much more

than its production. So some people to fulfill their cheap interests

introucced Synthetic Milk to meet their demands . This synthetic milk

is Slow Poison

Synthetic milk is prepared by mxing urea with water. Urea is well

mixed with water and to make up the taste sugar is added to give it

pure milk appearance Shampoo is also mixed so that it makes foam in

the above mixture. All the things are added to it so carefully that it

gives the pure milk density ie.e. 1.026 in the lactometer.

This synthetic milk causes various harmful diseases in human

being.
S.No. FOOD STUFF ADULTERATES
1. Black Pepper Dried Pappaya seeds
2. Cereals:

a) Rice Soap Stone

b) Wheat Mud
3. Arhar Dal Kesari Dal
4. Desi Ghee Vanaspati Ghee
5. Dhania Powder Horse Dung
6. Mustard Oil Argemone Oil
7. Tumeric Powder (Haldi Lead Chromate

Powder)
8. Milk Extraction of fat or cream,

addition of water
9. Tea Used Tea
10. Sweet Saccrine
11. Chillipowder (lal mirch Saw dust & Brick Powder

powder)
12. Honey Sugar & Jaggery (Gur)

APPARATUS

1. BEAKER

2. GLASS ROD

3. TEST TUBE

4. TEST TUBE HOLDER

5. TEST TUBE STAND

MATERIAL USED

1. BUTTER

2. FAT

3. VEGETABLE GHEE

4. MILK

5. SUGAR

6. MILKED BUTTER
CHEMICALS USED

1. Concentrated Hydrochloric Acid.

2. Dilute Hydrochloric Acid

3. Iodine Solution

4. Acetic Anhydride

5. Diphenylamine Reg.
 Detection of Food Adulterants

Since food adulteration is a sedate problem and applies to all,

thus screening of our day to day used common food stuffs need special

consideration and chemical dealings with the detection of adulterants

in milk and other milk products are described below :

Experiment No. 1

Testing of Milk Sample

Procedure

Take 1 cm3 of milk sample in a test tube and heat to almost

boiling. Then cool the contents and add a few drops of freshly

prepared iodine solution. Shake the contents and then observe.

Observation:

A blue coloured ppt appears in the sample of milk.

Inference:

Starch is present as an adulterant in the sample of milk. In case

of pure milk a deep yellow colour due to casein (Milk Protein) will be

visible.
 Experiment No. 2

Test of Milk Sample

Test for presence of nitrate (Diphenylamine Test)

Pure milk does not contain nitrate. The presence of nitrate can

be deflected by diphenylamine test.

Procedure:

Take 1 ml of diphenylamine reagnet in a test tube . Pour the milk

along the sides of test tube.

Observation:

A blue ring appears in the test tube.

Inference:

The given sample of milk has been adulterated with nitrate.

Testing of Butter Sample

Procedure:

Take a tea-spoon full of butter sample in a test tube. Heat the

tube gently to melt the butter sample. Add an equal amount of conc.

HCl and a pinch of sugar to it. Shake the contents of the test tube for

2 minutes.

Inference :

The butter sample has been adulterated by mixing vanaspati

ghee, if a pink to dark red colour appears in the lower aqueous layer.

Experiment No.4

Testing of Butter Sample

Test for the presence of formaldehyde (fomaldehyde test)

Procedure:

Take 1 mg of milked butter in a test tube to this add a trace of

ferric chloride and then conc. H2SO4.

A violet ring appears in the test tube .

Inference:

The given sample of butter has been adulterated with

formaldehyde.

Experiment No. 5

Testing of Fat Sample

Procedure:

Take small amount of melted and filtered fat inm a test tube.

Then add 1 ml hydrochlric acid to it (1:3). Shake the test tube

thoroughly for some time and allows it to stand.

Observation:

A Pink colour appears in the lower layer of the test tube.

Inference:

The sample of fate has been adulterated with dyes.

Testing of Vegetable Ghee Sample

Procedure:

Place 1 2 ml of vegetable ghee in a test tube. Then add 1 ml of

acetic anhydride and heat gently.

Observation:

An oil drop is seen floating on unused acetic acid anhydride.

Inference:

The given sample of vegetable ghee has been adulterated by

adding Paraffin Wax.

20 Japanese tourists, who had come here to visit Vaishali and

Rajget were severly hit by high fever and acute stomach pain. They

consumed beer of a popular make and state chicken soup, allegedly

contaminated , at a hotel in Bodh Gaya on last night.

At Rajgir on Oct 25, they had left for Bodh Gaya and checked in

a hotel same evening . They ordered for dinner with beer and chicken

soup for the whole team. Soon after consuming them, they started

vomitting profusely and complained to stomach pain.

A team of doctors provided them necessary medical attention

and diagnosed that they were suffering from aculigasto enteriter which

was a result of intake of adulterated food.

According to the doctors excessive intake or consumption of

adulterated food can cause serious complex diseases which if not

prevented can be highly dangerous following are given some diseases

caused due to intake of adulterated food stuff.

This particular disease is caused due to intake of food stuff

adultered by argemone ( a contaminent of Mustard oil). The symptoms

are Oedima (swelling) , vascular naini, or rashes on skin and Irigima or

shilish grey patches on skin. This disease usually occurs in lower limbs.

Patient should take complete bed rest and should take high protein

diest with plenty of vitamins . Medicine Qiuretics (ruins tablets to

reduce swelling).

This disease is also known as epidemic spastic paraplegia which

means no movement in hind limbs. This disease is caused by excessive

intake of food adulterated by lathyrus sativus (a type of pulse used to

adulterate higher quality of pulses). The symptoms are spastic

paralysis of lower limbs and muscular cramps in culbs. There is no

is to stop the use of adulterant in food.

The list of such disease is endless and are increasing day by day.
 CONCLUSION

In an attempt to prevent the adulteration of food product by

dishonest traders our government has issued The prevention of food

Adulteration Act & Rules and Food products order which serve the

following function.

This act lays down the minimum standard for the quality of food

to be manufactured.

The retail price of the food products must be indicated.

The weight or volume of the food and also its contents must be

indicated.

This act also lays down the punishment for the various offences

of food adulterations.
 This act specifies that the date of manufacture as well as date of

expiry of the food products should be indicated on the tin or wrapper

of the food packets.

One should look for the symbols issued by the government on

various food items and buy those items only that ensure pure and

hygenic food. The various symbols are :

FPO (Food Product Order)

AGMARK (Agricultural Marketing)

ISI (Indian Standard Institute

ABC CHEMISTRY

COMPANION CHEMISTRY

DINESH CHEMISTRY

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