FOOD ADULTERATION
Mysore Grahakara Parishat
6/1, Vivekananda Road, Yadavagiri, Mysore 570 020 (Phone: 2515 150
E-Mail: )
Mysore Grahakara Parishat (MGP) has been trying since 1989 to improve the life of Mysoreans.
* Its members have helped solve thousands of con¬sumer problems concerning private merchants or gov¬ernment departments.
* It is spreading consumer awareness among the pub¬lic through articles, books and its own monthly newslet¬ter Grahaka Patrike.
* It is trying to improve efficiency of government departments and bodies through its many committees.
* It is constantly fighting to improve the environment of Mysore.
* It has filed cases in the public interest in local, high and supreme courts to solve civic and environmental problems.
Become an active member of MGP and contribute your mite to improve the life of Mysore citizens.
Annual Membership: Rs. 50
Life Membership: Rs. 500
Preface
For a society to run smoothly and fairly, its members must be well-aware of their rights and responsibilities. They must sincerely perform their duties and have the courage to protest when their rights are curtailed. When this does not happen, the entire society will fall prey to the oppression and exploitation of just a few unprincipled people.
Among the rights of citizens, consumer rights are very important. Consumers have a right to get goods of good quality for their money. But many profit-driven irresponsible manufacturers and vendors are attempting to deny these rights. Food adulteration which is quite widespread now is a despicable manifestation of this attempt. This blight is continuing mainly because most people are not aware of the dangers of food adulteration (and do not protest even when they are aware).
Mysore Grahakara Parishat has been conducting several programmes to increase awareness of rights and responsibilities among the public and hence mitigate the loss they are suffering. In the matter of food adulteration,
its members are conducting demonstrations in schools, colleges, service and rural organizations, etc., explaining the dangers of food adulteration and showing simple ways in which adulteration can be detected at home. The present booklet is being published to supplement this programme.
C.V. Nagaraj
Senior Chemist (Rtd.), Regional Agmark Laboratory
Convener, Mysore Grahakara Parishat
SOME COMMON ADULTERANTS FOUND IN FOODAND THEIR HEALTH IMPLICATIONS
Food Article / Adulterants of Economic Importance / Adulterants With
Health Implications
Adulterants / Ill-effects
Milk / Water, Sugar,
Starch, Skimmed
Milk powder / Impure Water / Stomach Disorders
Such as diarrhea
Whole Spices
And Condiments / Papaya seeds, Wild
barks, Grass seeds / Argemone seeds,
Lead chromate / Blindness, Edema,
Kidney failure
Powdered Spices
And Condiments / Sawdust, Starch,
Salt, Powdered sand / Non-permitted
Colours / Cancer, Liver
Damage
Oils and Fats / Cheaper edible oils,
Animal fats
(Tallow, Lard) / Rancid oils, Castor
Oil, Argemone oil,
Mineral oil, TCP / Liver damage,
Edema, Blindness,
Cancer, Paralysis
Sugar and
Confectionery / Soji, Starch / Non-permitted
Colours, Saccharin / Liver damage,
Cancer
Cereals and Pulses / Cheaper varieties,
Infested, mouldy grains / Talc, Non-permitted
Colours, Kesaari dhal / Liver damage,
Paralysis, Cancer
Soft Drinks / Water, Non-permitted colours / Impure water, Saccharin / Stomach disorders, Cancer
Coffee and Tea / Spent coffee and tea, Roasted date and tamarind seed powders / Non-permitted colours, Iron filings in tea (due to bad quality control) / Cancer, Stomach disorders
Simple Tests to Detect Some Common Adulterants in Foods
The following are some simple tests suggested by Central Food Technological Research Laboratory, Mysore and Regional Agmark Laboratory, Bangalore to detect many types of common food adulterants.
Equipment Needed:
Test tubes, pipettes and blotting paper.
Chemicals Needed:
Concentrated hydrochloric (HCl) acid, concentrated nitric acid, concentrated sulphuric acid, tincture of iodine,
petroleum ether, alcohol, N/2 alcoholic potash, solvent ether, 1 % sodium carbonate solution.
Instructions:
The equipment and chemicals needed can be obtained at any shop which sells chemicals.
Acids should be transferred carefully using pipettes. Add acids to water. Adding water to acids is dangerous.
These chemicals can be dangerous and should be handled with EXTREME CAUTION.
Key to the abbreviations used:
A = Adulterant
T = Test to detect it
I = Indications which show the presence of the adulterant.
1. MILK
i. A: Water.
T: Lactometer.
I: It reads less than 1.026.
T: Put a drop of milk on a polished vertical surface.
I: It flows easily without leaving a mark.
ii. A: Starch.
T: Add a drop of tincture of iodine to a sample.
I: It turns blue.
iii. A: Detergent.
T: Take a sample, add an equal amount of water and shake
I: Lather is produced.
2. GHEE, BUTTER
i. A: Vanaspati.
T: Add a little HCl acid and a pinch of sugar to a melted sample and shake well for a minute.
I: Pink colour appears in the lower layer after 5 minutes.
ii.A: Mashed potatoes and other starches.
T: Add a drop of tincture of iodine to a sample.
I: Blue colour appears.
3. EDIBLE OILS
i. A: Castor oil.
T: Dissolve a teaspoonful of oil in petroleum ether and add a drop of sulphuric acid.
I: It turns white and cloudy.
ii. A: Argemone oil.
T: Add a little nitric acid to a teaspoonful of oil and shake gently.
I: The acid layer turns red or reddish brown.
iii. A: Mineral oil.
T: Add a teaspoonful of oil to a teaspoonful of N/2 alcoholic potash in a test-tube. Heat the tube in boiling water for 15 minutes. Add 5 teaspoonfuls of water.
I: It turns cloudy.
4. SWEETS, ICE CREAM, SOFT DRINKS
i. A: Metanil yellow (an unpermitted food colour).
T: Add warm water to a sample and shake well. Pour the top part of the liquid into a test-tube and add a few drops of HCl acid.
I: It turns pink or purplish red.
ii. A: Saccharin.
T: Add a teaspoonful of water to a teaspoonful of the sample. Add a few drops of HCl acid and solvent ether and shake. Separate the liquid and let it evaporate. Add a few drops of water to the residue and taste.
I: It tastes sweet.
iii. A: Aluminium foil.
T: Add HCl acid.
I: It dissolves. (Pure silver foil does not dissolve.)
5. JAGGERY
i. A: Metanil yellow (an unpermitted food colour).
T: Add warm water to a sample and shake well. Pour the top part of the liquid into a test-tube and add a few drops of HCl acid.
I: It turns pink or purplish red.
6. POWDERED SUGAR (ICING SUGAR)
i. A: Washing soda.
T: Add to HCL acid.
I: Bubbles arise.
7. ASAFOETIDA (HING)
i. A: Resin with smell and colour added.
T: Dissolve in water.
I: Pure asafoetida dissolves to form a whitish liquid. Resin does not dissolve.
8. CURRY POWDER, MASALA POWDER
A: Oil-soluble dyes.
T: Add a teaspoonful of solvent ether to a sample and shake. Pour the liquid into a test tube and add a little HCl acid and a little water. Shake gently.
I: A pink or red colour appears in the lower acid layer.
9. BLACK PEPPER SEEDS
A: Light black pepper and papaya seeds.
T: Float a sample in alcohol.
I: Light pepper and papaya seeds float.
T: Cut seeds in half and add tincture of iodine. After 5 minutes, wash and dry the cut seeds.
I: Papaya seed sections show a pale red colour. (Pepper seed sections show a dark blue colour.;
10. MUSTARD SEEDS
A: Argemone seeds.
T: Visual examination.
I: Mustard seeds are smooth, while argemone seeds have a rough surface.
11. CUMIN SEEDS
A: Argemone seeds.
T: Visual examination.
I: Mustard seeds are smooth, while argemone seeds have a rough surface.
12. DHAL
A: Metanil yellow
T: Add a little HCl acid to a little dhal.
I: It will turn red.
13. TEA POWDER
A: Colouring matter.
T: Sprinkle some powder on a wet white blotting paper.
I: The paper is stained immediately.
14. TEA DUST, FARINA (RAVA), SUGAR
A: Iron filings.
T: Place a magnet over the sample.
I: The filings stick to the magnet.
15. COFFEE POWDER
A: Powdered date and tamarind seeds.
: Place some powder on a white blotting paper and sprinkle some sodium bicarbonate solution on it.
I: A reddish stain will form on the paper.
16. SUPARI AND PAN MASALA
i. A: Artificial colour.
T: Add water.
I: It shows colour.
ii. A: Saccharin.
T: Taste and observe.
I: It tastes sweet at first and has a bitter aftertaste.
17. SALT
i. A: Stones, white sand
T: Add water and shake well.
I: Stones and sand settle to the bottom.
Food Adulteration and the Law
There are two laws relating to food adulteration. The Prevention of Food Adulteration Rules, 1955 define the types of food adulteration that are prohibited. Matters relating to punishment for illegal food adulteration are contained in The Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954.
The Prevention of Food Adulteration Rules prescribe the degree of purity required for different food items. For example, let us take rice. According to the Rules, the total amount of foreign matter in rice can not exceed 1%. Damaged grains can not exceed 5%. Weevilled grains can not exceed 10%. In a like manner, the Rules prescribe the limits on impurities for all types of food.
The Prevention of Food Adulteration Rules severely limit the use of artificial colours. Inorganic colouring matter is totally prohibited. Organic colours can be used only for a few foods such as sweets, biscuits, ice creams, soft drinks, fruit jams, etc. There are severe restrictions on food preservatives also. Artificial sweeteners such as saccharine can not be used except in soft drinks and pan masalas. Strict limits have been placed on the amount of pesticides such as DDT, naturally occurring poisons and poisonous metals in food. The Rules prohibit ripening of fruits using carbide gas.
To prevent adulteration in packaged foods, all such packages are mandated to carry a printed list of all ingredients as well as the name and address of the manufacturer.
From 2002, packaged water has also been brought under the purview of the laws related to prevention of food adulteration. According to the Rules, bottled water can not have any bacteria whatsoever. Restrictions on the amounts of various salts and metals that can be present in bottled water have also been prescribed in the Rules.
Food adulteration is a punishable offence. According to The Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954, the following punishments can be imposed on offenders:
l. For food adulteration which is not injurious to health, a minimum of 6 months in jail and a minimum fine of Rs. 1,000.
2. For food adulteration which is injurious to health, a minimum of one year in jail and a minimum fine of Rs. 2,000.
3. For food adulteration which is likely to cause death or serious bodily harm, a minimum of 3 years in jail and a minimum fine of Rs. 5,000.
Food Adulteration: Present Scenario
Even though laws against food adulteration are strict, their enforcement leaves a lot to be desired. For example, the responsibility of enforcing these laws in Mysore and prosecuting offenders has been given to the Public Analyst of the Mysore City Corporation. But it appears that no food adulteration case has been booked in a period extending to more than 30 years. The food inspectors required to enforce the law are generally not properly trained. Even though MCC has a couple of trained food inspectors, they are not being used to collect food samples for testing. Public Analysts required to establish food adulteration have not been appointed everywhere (The post of Public Analyst in MCC has been lying vacant since 1980). Added to this is political interference! Therefore, even though food adulteration is rampant, those punished can be counted on one's fingers.
It is essential that consumers should wake up to change the situation. Realizing the dangers posed by food adulteration, people should be ready to fight this evil. If you suspect food is being adulterated, complain to MCC immediately. Put pressure on MCC to take action against the offenders.
Bhramara Trust of Y. T. & Madhuri Thathachari
144, 5th Cross, 3rd Main, Vijayanagar 1st Stage, Mysore 570017