“STUDY OF ADULTERANTS

IN COMMON FOOD
PRODUCTS”

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of

the Class XII Board Practical in Senior Secondary Education
Submitted By
SOLAMON KAIDHAVALAPPIL ANTONY

REGISTER NO:
Under the Guidance of
Mr. KAMACHIYAPPAN P M. Sc., B.Ed., PhD

SRI CHAITHANYA TECHNO

SCHOOL
A Senior Secondary School Affiliated to Central Board of
Secondary Education (CBSE), New Delhi.
Affiliation No: 1931222
(2023-2024)
 This is to certify that this report on “STUDY OF ADULTERANTS IN COMMON FOOD

PRODUCTS” is the bonafide work of MITHRESH M (Register No: ) who

carried out the project under my supervision. Certified further, that to the best of my

knowledge the work reported herein does not form part of any other project report or

assertation on the basis of which a degree or award as conferred on an earlier occasion on this

or any other certificates.

Mr. KAMACHIYAPPAN P Mr. RAUVURI SANJEEVA REDDY

Subject Teacher Principal

Submitted for the Project Work and viva-voce Examination held on

………………………

INTERNAL EXAMINER PRINCIPAL EXTERNAL EXAMINER

i
 DECLARATION

I hereby declare that the project entitled “STUDY OF ADULTERANTS IN COMMON

FOOD PRODUCTS” submitted to Sri Chaitanya Techno School, Erode, in partial fulfilment of the
requirements for the award of the class XII Board Practical’s in Senior Secondary Education, is a
record of original project work done by me under the supervision and guidance of Mr. P.
KAMACHIYAPPAN., Sri Chaitanya Techno School, Erode.

PLACE: ERODE SIGNATURE OF THE STUDENT

DATE: ………………

ii
 ACKNOWLWDGEMENT

It is new elevation in my schooling history to undertake this project entitled -

“STUDY OF ADULTERANTSIN COMMON FOOD PRODUCTS” which helped our project
team to gain more knowledge.

I would like to express our deep gratitude and heartfelt thanks to our Principal Mrs. S. Mr.
RAUVURI SANJEEVA REDDY M.Sc., B.Ed., Sri Chaitanya Techno School, Erode, forproviding
the facilities to complete this project work.

I would like to thank our Senior Lecturer Mr. GADDI ASHWINI KUMAR M.Sc., B.Ed.,
& Mr. GAJULA SATHISH KUMAR M.Sc., B.Ed., Sri Chaitanya Techno School, Erode for
his prolonged support, encouragement and motivation.

I owe my immense gratitude and highest respect with heartfelt and sincere thanks to our
project guide Mr. P. KAMACHIYAPPAN M.Sc., B.Ed., PhD and Mrs. C. Priya B. Tech,
who took keen interest on my project and guided me to complete my project work.

This project would not have completed without their enormous help and worthy experience.
Whenever I was in need, they were behind me.

Although, this report has been prepared with utmost care and deep routed interest.
Even then I accept respondent and imperfection.

I express my sincere thanks to my parents and friends who helped me to complete this
project successfully.
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

S.NO. CHAPTERS PAGE NO.

ABSTRACT 01

1. INTRODUCTION
02

2. AIM 06

MATERIALS REQUIRED
3. 06

4. THEORY
07

PROCEDURE
5. 08

6. EXPERIMENTS 08

7. OBSERVATION 11

8. RESULT
12

9. CONCLUSION
13

10. BIBILIOGRAPHY
13

iv
 ABSTRACT

The basic objective of this project is to study the common food adulterants used by

fraudsters. Adulteration of food is done in many forms, mostly in crude form. The adulterants are either

added as a whole or it is partially mixed into the food products. This kind of adulterations leads to

unfitness of the food product for consumption. Consumption of such food products is harmful for

health. Also, the quality expected by the consumer is not met, which can be considered as a form of

cheating the consumer. So, detection of these kind of adulterations is very important. Consumers should

be beware of these kinds of adulterations. So, this project might be very helpful for a large number of

people who often become the prey of these adulterations. This project will explain the different

techniques followed in adulteration of food products which often makes the process undetectable.

1
 INTRODUCTION

Pure, fresh and healthy food is the most necessary thing for survival. But food in it’s
purest formis almost never available in the market. Always adulteration are common in any of
the food products available in the market. So, one must be careful in selecting the food products.
When adulterated food products are consumed a lot of diseases can also occur. Food adulteration
is carried out in a variety of techniques which are used to reduce the cost of production and increase
the quantity of the food product.But the quality of the food products is decreased and often the
food products loses healthiness for consumption. Sometimes the food products might get
extremely harmful for consumption. Generally, adulterations are carried out by the producers to
satisfy their need and get profit. If is done to satisfy their greed. Greediness is always a bad thing

They never think of the harms caused by adulteration of food. Adulteration is also a way
of cheating the consumers as the consumer’s trust is broken due to adulteration of food products.
The consumers always trust that the food products will be of standard quality. But they are not
beware of the underlying adulterations. So finding the adulterants added in the common food
products is important message for the society. Adulteration of food-stuffs is so rampant,
widespread and persistent that nothing short of a somewhat drastic remedy in the form of a
comprehensive legislation became the needof the hour.

The increasing number of food producers and the increasing demand for varieties makes
the producers to add adulterants to food products in large amounts. Increasing ways of
adulterations of foodis a matter of concern. Strict measures are necessary against the adulterations
of food products. A detailed excerpt of the harms of adulteration of food products, methods used
to add adulterants to the food products, and methods to detect the presence of various kinds of
food adulterants in commonly used food products are discussed in a detailed manner in the
upcoming pages of the work. I insist the readers to carefully understand the ways and
methodology and safeguard themselves from the adulteration of food products and get the
capability of identifying non adulterated food products and lead a happy life.

Nothing Short of a somewhat drastic remedy in the form of a comprehensive Legislation

became the need of the hour. To check this kind of anti-Social evil a concerted and determined
onslaught was launched by the Government by introduction of the Prevention of Food
Adulteration Bill in the Parliament to herald an era of much needed hope and relief For the
consumers at large

2
 About the middle of the 19th century chemical and microscopical knowledge had reached
thestage that food substances could be analysed, and the subject of food adulteration began to be
studied From the standpoint of the rights and welfare of the consumer. In 1860 the first food law
framed in the interest of the purchaser was passed. That law, lacking sufficient means of
enforcement, remained largely ineffective until 1872, when administrative officials were
appointed and penalties for violation provided.

The FDA is charged with enforcing truthful and informative labelling of essential commodities,
maintaining staff laboratories, and formulating definitions and standards promoting fair dealing in the
interests of the consumer. The 1938 act broadened the definitions of adulteration, misbranding, and
lack of informative labelling; it provided for factory inspections; and it increased thepenalties for
violations. It was amended in 1958 and 1962 to define and regulate food additives and foodcolouring.
The federal law controls traffic from one state to another and is supplemented by local regulations
that require food handlers to be licensed, thereby discouraging the spread of disease; it provides for
the inspection by health officers of meat and other foods, of restaurants, and of dairies and cold storage
methods. Imported goods that violate the provisions of the act may be denied admittanceto the United
States and if not removed within a given time may be destroyed.

LAWS AGAINST ADULTERATION OF FOOD

Laws Existed in a number of States in India for the prevention of Adulteration of food-
stuffs, but they lacked uniformity having been passed at different times without mutual consultation
between states. The need for Central legislation for the whole country in this matter has been felt
since 1937 when a committee appointed by the Central Advisory Board of Health recommended this
step.

‘Adulteration of food-stuffs and other goods’ is now included in the concurrent List (III) in
theConstitution of India. It has, therefore, become possible for the Central Government to enact all
India Legislation on this subject. The Bill replaces all local food adulteration laws where they exist
and also applies to those states where there are No local laws on the subject

THE LAW PROVIDES

 A Central Food Laboratory to which food samples can be referred to for final opinion in
disputedcases (clause 4),
 A Central Committee for Food Standards consisting of representatives of Central
and State Governments to advise on matters arising from the administration of the
act (clause 3), And

3
  The vesting in the Central Government of the rule-making power regarding standards of
quality forthe articles of food and certain other matters (clause 22).

GOVERNMENT MEASURES:
To check the suppliers of food from doing so, the government has passed a stringent act
which is known as preservation of food Adulteration Act. They have been implemented with the
objective of providing safety to human beings in the supply of food. It covers safety from risks
involveddue to contamination of poisonous elements. The specification laid down of various foods
under the provisions of PFA Act covers minimum basic characteristics Of the Products Below which
it is deemedto be adulterated and also covers the maximum limit of contaminant not considered being
safe for humanbeings beyond a certain level

4
 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 commode.

The entire system of Agmark, including the name, was created by Archibald MacDonald Livingstone,

Agricultural and Marketing Advisory to the Government of India, from 1934 to 1941. He was

supportedby a staff of several hundred. It instils trust in both the customer and the vendor and makes

interstate and worldwide marketing more convenient

5
AIM:

To detect the presence of adulterants in food items.

APPARATUS REQUIRED:

 Test-tubes,

 Conc. H2SO4,

 Acetic acid,

 Conc. HNO3

 Dil. HCl.

 KI solution, etc.

6
 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

ismixed 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

7
 EXPERIMENTS:

AIM: To detect the presence of adulterants in fat, oil and butter.

APPARATUS REQUIRED: Test-tube, conc. H2SO4, acetic acid, conc. HNO3.

PROCEDURE: Common adulterants present in ghee and oil are dyesand argemone oil. These are
detected as follows:
• Adulteration of dyes in fat: Heat 1mL of fat with a mixture of1mL of conc. Sulphuric Acid
and 4mL of Acetic Acid.
• Appearance of pink or red color indicates presence of dye infat.

8
AIM: To detect the presence of adulterants in sugar.

APPARATUS REQUIRED: Test-tubes, dil. HCl.

PROCEDURE: Sugar is usually contaminated with washing soda andother insoluble substances
which are detected as follows:
ADULTERATION OF VARIOUS INSOLUBLE SUBSTANCES IN SUGAR:

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

9
 AIM: To detect the presence of adulterants in samples of chilipowder, turmeric powder and pepper.

APPARATUS REQUIRED: Test-tubes, conc. HCl, dil. HNO3, KI solution.

PROCEDURE: Common adulterants present in chili powder, turmeric powder and pepper are red
coloured lead salts, yellow lead salts anddried papaya seeds respectively. They are detected as
follows:
ADULTERATION OF RED LEAD SALTS IN CHILI POWDER:
To a sample ofchili 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.

ADULTERATION OF YELLOW LEAD SALTS TO TURMERIC POWDER:

To asample of turmeric powder add conc. HCl. Appearance of magenta colour shows the
presence of yellow oxides of lead in turmeric powder.

ADULTERATION OF BRICK POWDER IN RED CHILI POWDER:

Add smallamount of given red chili powder in beaker containing water. Brick powder
settles at the bottom while pure chilipowder floats over water.

ADULTERATION OF DRIED PAPAYA SEEDS IN PEPPER:

Add smallamount of sample of pepper to beaker containing water and stir with a glass rod.
Dried papaya seeds being lighter float over water while pure pepper settles atthe bottom.
 OBSERVATION

EX. EXPERIMENT PROCEDURE OBSERVATION

NO.

1. Adulteration of dyesin fat Heat 1mL of fat Appearance of

witha mixture of pinkcolour.
1mL ofconc.
H2SO4 and 4mL
of acetic acid.

2. Adulteration ofargemone oil To small amount of No red

inedible oils oilin a test tube, add colour
fewdrops of conc. observed
HNO3 & shake.

3. Adulteration of various Adulteration of Pure sugar

insoluble substances in sugar various insoluble dissolves in
substances in waterbut
sugar insoluble
impurities do not
dissolve.
 4. Adulteration of chalkpowder, To small amount of No brisk
washing soda in sugar in a test tube, effervescenc
sugar adda few drops of eobserved.
dil. HCl

5. Adulteration of yellow lead To sample of Appearance of

salts toturmeric turmeric magenta
powder powder, add colour
conc. HCl.

6. Adulteration of red lead salts in To a sample of No yellow

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

7. Adulteration of brick powder in Add small Brick powder settles at

chilli powder amount of given red the bottom while
chilli powder in a pure chilli powder
beaker containing floats
water over water.

8. Adulteration of dried papaya Add small amount of Dried papaya seeds

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

RESULT:

The required analysis for adulterants in food stuffs has been made.
 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 absenceof insects, visual
fungus, foreign matters, etc. Therefore, due care taken by the consumer at thetime 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 certifiedfood from reputed shops.

BIBLOGRAPHY

 www.wikipedia.org

 www.sciencedirect.org

 www.fssai.gov.in

 NCERT Textbook of chemistry

 DART book (FSSAI)