qualitycontorl food

8/7/2019 Qualitycontorl Food

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Quality Control of

Food

he buyer can define

quality of foods as the

composite of those

characteristics that

differentiate individual

units of a product and have significance in determining the degree of acceptability of

that unit. In general, the quality control is the maintenance of quality at levels and

tolerance acceptable to the buyer, minimizing the cost for the vender.

But, from the scientific angle, the overall quality refers to technological, physical,

chemical, microbiological, nutritional and sensory parameters to achieve the

wholesome food. These quality factors depend on the specific attributes such as

sensory properties, based on flavour, colour, aroma, taste, texture; quantitative

properties viz., percentage of sugar, protein, fibre etc. and hidden attributes like

peroxides, free fatty acids, enzyme etc. Though quality attributes are many, not all

need to be considered for a particular product. It is important to determine how far

relatively the factor is in relation to the total quality of the product.

The quality attribute of a particular product is based on the composition of the

product, expected deteriorative reactions, packaging used, shelf life required and the

type of the consumer i.e., deployed in terrain conditions or in peaceful situation. With

the ultimate goal of protecting the consumer, quality standardization systems have

come into force for regulating the gamut of operations in food manufacture.

T


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In a broader sense, food laws and regulations cover the related acts affecting the

marketing, production, labeling, food additive used, dietary supplements,

enforcement of General Manufacturing Practice (GMP), Hazard Analysis and Critical

Control Point (HACCP), federal laws and regulations, factory inspections and import-

export inspections.

Types of Contamination

Physical contamination

Adulteration is one of the

major physical

contaminations.

Adulteration is the mixing

of inferior quality material

or superiors substance to

the superior product,

which reduces the nature,

quality and originality in

taste, colour, odour and nutritional value causing ill effects on the health of the

consumers. The main motive of adulteration is to gain undue profits.

Government promulgated the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act (PFA Act) in 1954,

which prohibits the manufacture, sale and distribution of not only

adulterated food, but also foods contaminated with

toxicants and misbranded foods. A

Central Food Laboratory established

under the act is located at Kolkata for

the purpose of testing suspected food

products. The Central Food Technology

Research Institute (CFTRI), Mysore has

been recognized another laboratory for

testing of adulteration food.

The regional laboratories have also been established at PAU,

Ludhiana, Pusa Delhi and Haryana State food Testing Laboratory. Now almost every


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state has its own food-testing laboratory to analyze the sampled suspected

foodstuffs. Almost all the food stuffs being sold in the market are adulterated, but

main food products that are heavily adulterated are spices, milk products, edible oil,

beverages drinks, sweets, pulses, sugar, processed foods, rice and cereal products

like flour, maida, sooji, etc.,

Table: List of common foodstuffs and their adulterants

Type of foodstuffs Main adulterants

a. Milk and Milk products

1. Liquid Milk Water, refined oil, separated (cream less) skim milk

solution, water nut flour

2. Milk powder Starch, dextrines, water nut flour, rice flour

3. Milk cream Other fats, animal fats

4. Butter and Ghee Vanaspati ghee, hydrogenated fats and animal fats

5. Ice Cream Artificial sweetners, jelling agents, other fats, water

nut flour, non permitted colors.

b. Vegetable Oils and Fats

1. Vanaspati ghee Animal fat and other high melting fats

2. Edible oils Palm oil, argemone oil, non-edible oil

c. Dry Beverages

1. Coffee Powder Exhausted Coffee powder, starch, roasted dates,

tamarind seeds

2. Tea powder Used tea residues, other leaves with added color

d. Wet Beverages

1. Wines and beers Water, spurious narcotics and other concentrated

liquids

2. Soft drinks Artificial sweeteners (Saccharin), mineral acids

3. Honey Colored invert sugar, high concentrated sugar

solution

4. Syrups Cheap liquids and juices

e. Spices and Condiments

1. Whole turmeric Coating with lead chromate or coal tar dye

2. Turmeric powder Yellow earth, starch or talc colored yellow with coal


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tar dye

3. Curry powder Starch colored brown with coal tar dye

4. Coriander seed Other green colored seeds

5. Coriander seed powder Powdered bran or sawdust colored green with dye

6. Chilly powder Starch colored red with coal tar dye7. Mustard seed Argemone seeds

8. Cumin seed Artificial cumin seed like product

9. Black pepper Dried papaya seeds

10. Asafetida Resins and other plant gums

f. Cereals and their products

1. Wheat Stones, straws, low variety grains

2. Wheat flour Talc, chalk powder, tapioca flour

3. Maida Arrow root powder, tapioca flour

4. Sooji Maize flour

5. Rice Stones, straws, low variety rice

6. Semolina Tapioca semolina

g. Pulses and their products

1. Bengal gram dal Khesaridal, arhardal, bakhla dal

2. Red gram dal (Arhar dal) Khesaridal, bakhla dal, yellow maize flour

3. Bengal gram flour (Besan) Tapioca flour, khesaridal flour, yellow maize flour

h. Miscellaneous Items

1. Processed arecanut Other seeds or nuts broken and colored

2. Processed foods Pickle, jam, chutney and squash of cheap products

3. Sweets Artificial sweeteners, sooji, gurand tapioca flour

Chemical Contamination

Chemicals, which cause a harmful reaction when consumed by animals or humans,

are said to be toxic. It turns out that almost everything is a toxicant or poison if

consumed at a high enough level. The use of chemicals in the production and

processing of food and food products not only affects the quality, but also disguises

the deterioration and constitutes deliberate adulteration which is potentially very

harmful to the health. It is advised that food additives like colouring matter,

preservatives artificial sweetening agents, antioxidants, emulsifiers/stabilizer,


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flavours/flavour enhancers etc., if used should be of approved quality and processed

under good manufacturing practices.

Microbiological Contamination

It has been stated that microbiological contaminated food is perhaps the most

prevalent health problem in the contemporary world. For safe food microbiological

criteria should be established and freedom from pathogenic microorganisms must be

ensured, including the raw materials, ingredients and finished products at any stage

of production/processing. Accordingly the microbiological examination of the foods

products has to be adopted widely. The microbiological criteria must be applied to

define the distinction between acceptable and unacceptable foods. Consuming old,

used, residual, fermented, spoiled, and contaminated, toxic and bacterial infested

food causes food poisoning.

Infants are more susceptible to food poisoning. Gastroenteritis is caused by food

contaminated with the enterococcus, streptococcus faecalis, which is frequently

found in the human intestinal tract. Poisoning is caused by inadequately refrigerated

food contaminated with microorganism, Clostridium perfringens grows in the

alimentary canal producing the poisoning 8-12 hours after the ingestion of

contaminated food.

Bacillus cereus, a gram positive, aerobic, spore-forming organism has been reported

to be the etiologic agent in numerous food poisoning outbreaks. Incidence of liver

cancer is high in our country due to aflatoxin. Flavism is caused by eating broad

beans or by inhaling, the pollen of its flower. Flavism is a hemolytic anemia. In severe

cases death may occur within 24-48 hours of the onset of the attack. Lathyrism is a

disease, which paralyses the lower limbs. Its incidence is higher in males than in

females. The disease is associated with consumption ofKhesari daland its besan.

Metallic Contamination

Metals are one of the many unintentionally contaminants of food. When present

beyond small quantities, they are toxic. They find their way into food through air,

water, soil, industrial pollution and other routes. Metals may enter from foods utensils


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also. Enamelware of poor quality contributes antimony and galvanized utensils zinc.

A major source of tin contamination is tin plate, which is used for making containers

for all types of processed foods. Canned foods if acidic and foods stored in tins after

opening, change in colour or develop a metallic flavour that is unpalatable. A small

quantity of metal is added when food is cooked in aluminum utensils. Copper is an

essential trace element required by the human body but copper contaminated food is

toxic.

Other contaminants

1. Fumigants are used to sterilize food under conditions in which steam heating is

impractical. Ethylene oxide is a commonly used fumigant, which reacts with food

constituents to produce or destroys essential nutrients. It reacts with inorganic

chloride to form ethylene chloro hydride, which is toxic.

2. Various solvents are used for the extraction of oil from oil seeds. But solvents like

trichloro ethylene react with the foodstuff being processed with the formation of toxic

products.

3. During processing of food, their lipids can undergo numerous changes on

prolonged heating, oxidative and polymerization reactions take place, which

decreases the value of the processed products.

4. Smoking of meat and fish for preservation and flavouring is an old practice. This

processing contaminates the food with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons such as

benzopyrene, many of which are carcinogenic.

5. Lubricants, packing materials etc. also contaminate foods.

6. A number of chemicals are intentionally added to foods to improve their nutritional

value, maintain freshness, impact desirable properties or aid in processing. They also

contaminate food if excessive in quantity.

V.Thirupathi, R.Viswanathan & CT. DevadasDepartment of Food & Agricultural Processing,

Agricultural Engineering College & Research Institute

Tamil Nadu Agricultural University,

Coimbatore-641 003,

Tamil Nadu.

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