Is the food we eat SAFE?There is an old adage that food is eaten not only through the mouth rather

the sight of the food is in itself a major attraction and appetite enhancer. Most of

the times it is the first impression that is created by the appearance of food that

serves as the determinant of the taste of the food. It is rare to find a person who

will not become impressed by the sight of any particular food and feel compelled

to purchase it or eat it. Thus in order to enhance the appearance of the food item

and thereby its marketability many additives like artificial colours, are added. This

is one major reason for addition of many non-edible substances to foodstuffs.

Another reason for this is that every consumer wants to get maximum quantity of

a commodity for as low a price as possible. This attitude of the consumer gets

coupled with the intention of the traders to increase the margin of profit resulting

in the adulteration of foods.

The addition of such colours and flavours is not a recent phenomena

rather the fascination with a good appearance of food has been there since the

dawn of human civilization. However during the pre industrialization times only

natural spices and colours were used for this purpose. The progress in

technology led to discovery of newer chemicals that served as cheaper

alternatives for flavouring, colouring and the preservation of food. The impacts of

these synthetic additives to the foodstuffs were felt after repots of adverse health

impacts came up from various quarters.

Quite a few food additives and contaminants pose serious threat to the

health of consumers. The contaminants can be deliberately added or they can

even get into the food from the environment. Additives refer to substances that

are not a part of the food rather they serve other purposes like colourants,

flavouring agents, preservatives, sweeteners and stabilizers. Since the last few

decades many commonly food additives have come under question and many

also been banned due their relation to various heath disorders in consumers.

Food adulteration is a major issue within

the purview of food safety.

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Food adulteration is a phenomenon whereby the quality of the commodity

gets reduced through addition of a baser substance and / or removal of vital

elements. The Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954 aims at making

provisions for the prevention of adulteration of food. The Act extends to the whole

of India and came into force on 1st June 1955.

WHAT IS ADULTERATED FOOD? An article of food shall be deemed to be adulterated -

a. if the article sold by a vendor is not of the nature, substance or quality demanded by the purchaser or which it purports to be;

b. if the article contains any substance affecting its quality or of it is so processed as to injuriously affect its nature, substance or quality;

c. if any inferior or cheaper substance has been substituted wholly or partly for the article, or any constituent of the article has been wholly or partly abstracted from it, so as to affecting its quality or of it is so processed as to injuriously affect its nature, substance or quality;

d. if the article had been prepared, packed or kept under insanitary conditions whereby it has become contaminated or injurious to health;

e. if the article consists wholly or in part of any filthy, putrid, disgusting, rotten, decomposed or diseased animal or vegetable substance or being insect-infested, or is otherwise unfit for human consumption;

f. if the article is obtained from a diseased animal;

g. if the article contains any poisonous or other ingredient which is injurious to health;

h. if the container of the article is composed of any poisonous or deleterious substance which renders its contents injurious to health;

i. if the article contains any prohibited colouring matter or preservative, or any permitted colouring matter or preservative in excess of the prescribed limits;

j. if the quality or purity of the article falls below the prescribed standard, or its constituents are present in proportions other standard, or its constituents are present in proportions other than those prescribed, whether or not rendering it injurious to health.

Thus, additions of water to milk amount to adulteration, within the meaning of sub-clauses (b) or (c).

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Food adulteration has become the order of the day and consumer education is

the need of the hour, assert experts. A common mistake committed by most

consumers is to blindly pick up any product without reading the label, which

includes details like batch number, expiry date, manufacturer’s name and

address. Sometimes it is a spurious or duplicate product and can be mistaken for

a reputed brand. The consumer has to keep his eyes open while buying a

product. Given below is a list of the commonly used food adulterants in India:

Adulterant

Foods Commonly Involved

Diseases & Health Effects

Lathyrus sativus(Khesari dal)

Mixed in other pulses like cow pea (arhar/toor dal) or as Khesari dal alone

Lathyrism (crippling spastic paraplegia orLower limb paralyses) Khesari Dal has a toxic Amino acid known as Beta oxalyl amino alanine. Cases Widely reported from Bihar and parts of U.P

Stearin (fat derived from palm oil)& tallow (animal fat)

Spurious desi ghee (clarified butter), yellow butter

Digestive problems, prolonged usage may cause accumulation of cholesterol in the blood vessels

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Oxytocin hormone injection(Administered to cattle to increase the milk output)

Traces reported fromBovine Milk samples

Even traces are enough to causeAbortions, still births, sterility & kidney damage

Washing powder

Ice Cream Gastric irritation leading to peptic ulcers in extreme cases

Argemone seedsArgemone oil

Mustard seedsAnd oil Responsible for the Dropsy outbreak in India during the nineties

Epidemic dropsy,Glaucoma,Cardiac arrest

Methanol Cheap Alcoholic liquors.Responsible for Hooch tragedy and other similar instances throughout the country.

Blurred vision, blindness, death

Sand, marble chips, stones, filth

Food grains, pulses etc.

Damage digestive tract

Foreign leaves or exhausted tea leaves, saw dust artificially

Tea Injurious to health, cancer

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colouredMolasses Honey Digestive

problemsChalk powder

Sugar, salt Contaminated chalk powder may contain spores of pathogens like ascaris, tapeworm

TCP Oils ParalysisRancid (spoilt due to microbial action) oil

Oils Destroys vitamin A and E

Artificially coloured foreign seeds, papaya seeds

As a substitute for cumin seed,Poppy seed, black pepper

Injurious to health

Calcium carbide Used for artificially ripening banana, mangoes ect.

Traces detected in fruits like banana, mangoes etc.

Consumption of such fruits leads toDiarrhoeaUlcers, Miscarriages

Mineral oil (white oil, petroleum fractions) &

Edible oils and fats,

Cancer

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linseed oil

Castor oil Groundnut oil Can cause abortion in pregnant women when amount adulterated goes beyond 0.7 mg/kg of body weight.

Mobile oil Used to impart a shiny appearance to vegetables like brinjal, tomatoes etc.

Harmful for theGastrointestinal also causes respiratory problems

Deleterious chemical

Foods involved

Diseases/Health effects

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s(Food colours, additives)Lead chromate

Turmeric whole and powdered, mixed spices, pulses

Anemia, abortion, paralysis, brain damage

Metanil Yellow(Not permitted by the PFA*)

Ice Creams, Candies, Sweets like Laddoos & Jalebies, dishes like chicken tandoorietc

Male reproductive defects like decreased sperm count etc

Rhodamin –B (Not permitted by the PFA*)

Sweets like Gulab Jamuns and Halwas

Cancer

Orange II(Not permitted by the PFA*)

Orange coloured sweets like rasgullas

Cancer

Congo red &Butter Yellow(Not permitted by the PFA*)

Biscuits, Sweets and Cakes

Carcinogenic on prolonged usage

Sudan I(Not

Red Chilli Powder Carcinogenic

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permitted by the PFA*)Malachite green

Used to colour parwal & peas

Carcinogenic

Sodium benzoate(Preservative)

Ketchups, Jams, Jellies etc

May cause allergies and asthma according to the American Academy Allergy, Asthama & Immunology

Copper Sulphate(blue coloured)

Used to artificially colour vegetables like Lady fingers & Parwal

Anaemia

Saccharin Used as an artificial sweetener. Since it is 300-500 times sweeter than sugar.

Proven to the cause of Urinary Bladder cancer in mammals

Brominated Vegetable oils (B.V.O)

Added to citrus (orage,lemon)flavored drinks to maintain theirCharacteristic cloudy appearance

Proven carcinogen

Ajinomoto/ Monosodium Glutamate (MSG)

A flavor enhancer in prepared foods.It was responsible for

Produces “Chinese restaurant Syndrome”

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the Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) controversy in New Delhi during the Nineties

Causing some people to have aBurning. sensation in neck and fore arms, tightness in the chest and headache

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Tin (cans) Food stored in cans

Colic pains even vomiting in some cases

Zinc (food containers)

Canned Foods Colic pains even vomiting in some cases

Mercury Mercury fungicide treated seed grains or mercury contaminated fish 

Brain damage, paralysis, death

Arsenic Fruits such as apples sprayed over with lead arsenate

Dizziness, chills, cramps, paralysis, death

Barium Foods contaminated by rat poisons (Barium carbonate)

Violent peristalisis, arterial hypertension, muscular twitching, convulsions, cardiac disturbances

Cadmium Fruit juices, soft drinks, etc. in contact with cadmium plated vessels or equipment. Cadmium contaminated

‘Itai-itai (ouch-ouch) disease, Increased salivation, acute gastritis, liver and kidney damage, prostrate cancer

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water and shell-fishLead Drinking Water

coming from lead coated pipelines, food stored in polythene bags, natural and processed food

Lead poisoning (foot-drop, insomnia, anemia, constipation, mental retardation, brain damage)

Aluminium as thin foils

Decoration of Sweet meats, instead of silver foils

Prolonged consumption may lead to neurological problems like Alzheimer’s disease .

Carbofuran BrinjalsTo give a fresh purple appearance to them

Developmental defects and Cancer

i. Phosphomidone

ii. Methyl Parathin

iii. Monocrotophos

CauliflowersTo give a fresh white appearance to them

Developmental defects and Cancer

PFA : Prevention of Food Adulteration ( Act), 1954

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What a consumer can do to detect such adulterants

Simple tests  

Food article

Adulteration

Test

Wheat flour Excessive sand & dirt

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.

Excessive bran

Sprinkle on water surface. Bran will float on the surface.

Chalk powder

Shake sample with dil. HCl Effervescence indicates chalk.

 Mustard oil

Argemone oil

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.

Ghee (Clarified butter)

Mashed PotatoSweet Potato, etc.

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.

  Vanaspati 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

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pink or red colour indicates presence of Vanaspati in Ghee.

  Synthetic Colouring Matter

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.

Pulses/Besan

Kesari dal(Lathyrus sativus)

Add 50 ml. Of dil.HCl to a small quantity of dal and keep on simmering water for about 15 minutes. The pink colour, if developed indicates the presence of Kesari dal.

Pulses Metanil Yellow(dye)

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.

  Lead Chromate

Shake 5 gm. Of pulse with 5 ml. Of water and add a few drops of HCl. Pink colour indicates Lead Chromate.

Milk Water   Urea  

Put a drop of milk on polished vertical surface. The drop of pure milk either stops or flows slowly leaving a white trail behind it. Whereas milk adulterated with water will flow immediately without leaving a mark. Take 5 ml of milk in a test tube and add 2 drops of

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bromothymol blue soln. Development of blue colour after 10 minutes indicates presence of urea.

Ice Cream Washing Powder

Put some lemon juice, bubbles are observed on the presence of washing powder

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

Colour Extract the sample with Petroleum ether and add 13N H2SO4 to 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.

Black Pepper

Papaya seeds/light berries, etc.

Pour the seeds in a beaker containing Carbon tetra-chloride. Black papaya seeds float on the top while the pure black pepper seeds settle down.

Spices(Ground)

Powdered bran and saw dust

Sprinkle on water surface. Powdered bran and sawdust float on the surface.

Coriander powder

Dung powder

Soak in water. Dung will float and can be easily detected by its foul smell.

  Common salt

To 5 ml. Of sample add a few drops of silver nitrate. White precipitate indicates adulteration.

Red Chilli Brick powder grit, sand, dirt, filth,

Pour the sample in a beaker containing a mixture of chloroform and carbon tetrachloride. Brick powder

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etc. and grit will settle at the bottom.

Rodamine Culture

 

 

Take 2gms sample in a test tube, add 5ml of acetone. Immediate appearance of red colour indicates presence of Rodamine.  

Turmeric Powder

Starch of maize, wheat, tapioca, rice

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.

Lead Chromate

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.

  Metanil Yellow

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.

Cumin seeds(Black jeera)

Grass seeds coloured with charcoal dust

Rub the cumin seeds on palms. If palms turn black adulteration in indicated.

Asafoetida(Heeng)

Soap stone, other earthy

Shake a little quantity of powdered sample with water. Soap stone or other earthy

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matter matter will settle at the bottom.

  Chalk 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.

SaffronColoured dried tendrils of maize cob

Pure saffron will not break easily like artificial. Pure saffron when allowed to dissolve in water will continue to give its colour so long as it lasts.

Honey Water

A cotton wick dipped in pure honey burns when ignited with a matchstick. If adulterated presence of water will not allow the honey to burn, if it does will produce a cracking sound.

Food grains Hidden insect infestation

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

Tea

Coloured leaves

 

 Used tea

  Iron fillings

Rub leaves on white paper, artificial colour comes out on paper.Tea leaves sprinkled on wet filter paper. Pink or red spots on paper show colour Move a magnet through the sample. Iron will stick to the magnet.

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Coloured Green vegetables like pointed gourd (parwal), Brinjal, chilli etc

Malachite green

Take a small part of the sample and place it over a moistened white blotting paper, the impression of the colour on paper indicates the presence of malachite green

 Other steps to safe guard against food adulterationFood Adulteration is rampant in rural as well as urban areas.

The best preventive step can be to buy branded and ISI-marked products. Even

if these branded items cost a little extra, it is worth paying the extra amount to

safe guard your health.

If you have purchased any branded item and doubt its quality, you can at least

approach the company concerned. One must avoid informal transactions, which

deprive the consumer a receipt for the purchases made. Always remember to

preserve your grocery bills so that the company can take necessary steps

regarding the complaint

If any person manufactures for sale, stores, sells, imports or distributes

any article of food that is adulterated or misbranded, he is liable under the PFA

Act to be punished with imprisonment and fined.  If you find that any food is

adulterated, then do not keep silent. Complain to Prevention of Food Adulteration

Department in your city / town / district and report to the newspapers and make

more and more people aware to take joint action.

Punishment Provisions

Whoever adulterates any food or drinks intended for sale shall be punished with

imprisonment, which may extend to six months, or with fine that may extend to

one thousand rupees, or both.

Besides the CRPC the Food Adulteration Act, makes provisions for the

prevention of adulteration of food. Food inspectors appointed by the Central and

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State Governments are empowered to take samples from any person selling,

conveying or delivering such article to a purchaser or consignee, and from a

consignee after receiving delivery, and send such sample to the public analyst.

A purchaser of any article of food, or a recognised consumer association, may

also get an article of food analysed by the public analyst on payment of the

prescribed fees, provided that the vendor is informed of this intended action at

the time of purchase. Thereafter, the purchaser or the consumer associations,

have to follow the same procedure as discussed above in the case of Food

Inspectors. If the article of food is found to be adulterated, the fees paid by the

purchaser or the association shall be refunded.

Import, manufacture, storage, sale or distribution of any food article, which

is adulterated by allowing its quality or purity to fall below the prescribed

standard, or is misbranded, or in contravention of any provision of the Act or

Rules. Penalty is minimum imprisonment of six months that may extend upto 3

years and minimum fine of Rs 1000 under the Food Adulteration Act.

References:

i. http://www.helplinelaw.com/ii. Friday, November 19,2004,THE TIMES OF INDIAiii. http://www.indiaagronet.comiv. www.cleanindia.orgv. Eating Clean, Overcoming Food Hazards, Selected readings,

A consumers Handbook, Centre for the Study of Responsive law, Library of Congress

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