FOOD ADULTERATION

"Be aware before this adulteration harm your organs"

 Food adulteration is an act of adding or mixing of poor quality, inferior, harmful, substandard, useless or unnecessary substances to food. This act of spoiling the nature and quality of food items is considered AS                    Food adulteration.

Example of milk. Under the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954, a trader is guilty if he sells milk to which water has been added or the cream of the milk has been replaced by cheap vegetable or animal fat  or simply the cream has been removed and the milk is sold as such, with a low-fat content.

REASON FOR FOOD ADULTERATION

• Practised as a part of the business strategy.
• An imitation of some other food substance.
• Lack of knowledge of proper food consumption.
• To increase the quantity of food production and sales.
• Increased food demand for a rapidly growing population.
• To make maximum profit from food items by fewer investments.

Examples:

For increasing the bulk or quantity of a food item by adding cheaper substitutes.Ex. A shopkeeper may add water to milk or stones to food grains.

To save money, a sweet maker may place aluminium foil instead of silver foil on the sweets he makes.

Poor quality fruits, vegetables and pulses are sometimes artificially coloured to give them the fresh look so that they sold at higher rate.

Preservation of food for supply to distant places and to avoid its wastage during the glut season. The milk vendors very commonly add chemicals like sodium bicarbonate to neutralise developed acidity in the milk and increase the shelf life.

METHODS OF FOOD ADULTERATION

1. Adding certain chemicals for faster ripening of fruits.
2. Mixing of decomposed fruits and vegetables with the good ones.
3. Adding certain natural and chemical dyes to attract consumers.
4. Mixing of clay, pebbles, stones, sand, and marble chips, to the grains, pulses and other crops.
5. Cheaper and inferior substances are added wholly or partially with the good ones to increase the weight or nature of the product.

Adulteration is an illegal practice of adding raw and other cheaper ingredients to excellent quality products to increase the quantity. Having this adulterated food is highly toxic and leads to several health issues, including certain nutrition deficiency diseases,  kidney disorders, and failure of an individual’s organ systems, including heart, kidney and liver.

REGULATOR OF FOOD STANDARDS IN INDIA

The Ministry of Health & Family Welfare has established the Food Safety and Security Authority of India (FSSAI) under Food Safety and Security Act, 2006 to regulate the science-based standards of food and also for manufacturing, packing, storage, distribution, import and sale to ensure the good quality of food. This Act was enforced to set up a single food quality platform for various food products.

How can you check if food is adulterated?

FSSAI has set up an online platform named DART (Detect Adulteration with Rapid Test) for checking the quality of various food articles like milk, dairy products, oils, grains, fruits, vegetables, sugar, beverages,etc.

For instance, if a person has purchased vegetables you can check if it is adulterated or not by simply taking a dabbed cotton with water or vegetable oil and rubbing it on the surface of the vegetable. If the cotton does not change the color it is not adulterated. 

Safety tips to avoid Adulteration:

1. Avoid dark coloured, junk and other processed foods.
2. Make sure to clean and store all the grains, pulses and other food products.
3. Wash fruits and vegetables thoroughly in running water before they are used.
4. Check if the seal is valid or not, before buying food products like milk, oil and other pouches.
5. Always make sure to check and buy products having an FSSAI-validated label, along with the license number, list of ingredients, manufactured date, and its expiration.

Where to complain when food article is found to be adulterate?

 3-tier complain redressal system where a consumer can complain:

• 1st tier is shopkeeper or manufacturer from where a consumer has purchased food or drink for consumption.
• 2nd tier is Local Health Authority of District or Commissioner of Food Safety of the State/ Union Territory.
• 3rd tier is Consumer Forum.

In India, food adulteration is governed by the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954. 

Act defines when food will be considered adulterated:

• Vendor sells a food article to a purchaser which is not of the quality or substance and nature demanded.
•  Food item contains an unnatural substance that is hazardous to health consumption.
• Any unnatural substance is added to the original product.
• Food product is stored or packed or prepared under an unhygienic condition which makes the food unhealthy for consumption.
• Any diseased animal is used for the preparation of food.
• Food contains any poisonous substance.
• Container of food is made up of any health hazardous substance.
• Food colour is added more than the prescribed quantity or if any other health hazardous substance is used for adding colour to the food article.
• Food article is preserved with any prohibited substance or when food preservative is used in excess amount.
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  Food Products	Adulterant	Harmful Effects
  Milk and Curd	Water and starch powder.	Stomach disorders.
  Ghee, Cheese and Butter	Mashed potatoes, Vanaspati and starch powder.	Gastro-intestinal disturbances and other stomach disorders.
  Grains	Dust, Pebbles, Stones, Straw, weed seeds, damaged grain, etc.	Liver disorders, Toxicity in the body, etc.
  Pulses	Dyes, chemical and Lead Chromate.	Stomach disorders.
  Coffee powder	Chicory, tamarind seeds powder.	Diarrhoea.
  Tea	Artificial colouring agents.	Liver disorders.
  Sugar	Chalk powder, Washing soda, Urea, etc.	Stomach disorders and kidney failure.
  Pepper	Dried papaya seeds and blackberries.	Severe allergic reactions including stomach and skin irritations.
  Mustard seeds	Argemone seeds(looks like mustered seeds)	Abdominal contractions, sluggishness and increased excretion.
  Edible Oils	Mineral oil, Karanja oil, castor oil and artificial colours.	Gallbladder cancer, allergies, paralysis, cardiac arrest, and increased LDL cholesterol.
  Turmeric Powder	Pesticide residues, sawdust, chalk dust, industrial dyes, metanil yellow dye arsenic, lead metal etc.	Cancer and Stomach disorders.
  Chilli and Coriander powder	Redbrick powder, Rhodamine B dye, Red lead, dung powder, soluble salts, water-soluble synthetic colours and other common salts.	Metal toxicity, Cancer, lead poisoning, tumour, variations in blood pressure and other stomach related disorders.
  Cinnamon sticks	Cassia bark.	Liver Damage, Low Blood Sugar, Mouth Sores and increased risk of cancer.
  Cumin seeds	Coloured grass seeds, sawdust and charcoal dust	Stomach disorders.
  Jam, Juice and Candies	Non-permitted dyes including metanil yellow and other artificial food dyes.	These dyes are highly carcinogenic that have the potential to cause different types of cancer.
  Jaggery	Washing soda, chalk powder	Vomiting and other Stomach disorders
  Honey	Molasses, dextrose, sugar and corn syrups	Stomach disorders
  Fruits and Vegetables	Chemical dyes, Malachite green, calcium carbide, copper sulphate and oxytocin saccharin wax.	Stomach disorders, vomiting, and dyes used are highly carcinogenic.
  Tomato sauces	Pumpkin pulp, non-edible artificial colours and flavours.	Gastritis and inflammation of vital organs.
  Ice Cream	Pepper oil, ethyl acetate, butyraldehyde, nitrate, washing powder. The kind of gum is added which is prepared by boiling different animal parts including the tail, udder, nose, etc.	Dreadful diseases that affect organs including lungs, kidneys, and heart.