NATIONAL PUBLIC SCHOOL, BANASHANKARI

Chemistry Investigatory Project

TOPIC: “Food adulterants in different food stuffs”

G S SAIKIRAN
GRADE XII
ROLL NO.: 18610
 CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that G S SAIKIRAN of Grade XII has

successfully completed the chemistry Investigatory
project titled “Study of adulteration in food stuffs” as
prescribed by CBSE for the year 2021-2022

Date:

AISSCE number:

Signature of Teacher:

Signature of Principal:

Signature of External Examiner:

 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I feel gratified to present my investigatory project in chemistry “Study of

adulterants in food stuff”. I would like to extend my gratitude to my academic
director Madam Grace C D, Principal Mrs. Jayanti Nair and Vice Principal Mrs.
Shreelata Sharma who provided for the necessary resources to complete my
project on time with ease.

This project would not have been possible without the proper guidance and
encouragement of my chemistry teacher Mrs. Sweta Sharma who guided me
throughout this project in every possible way.

I would like to thank my chemistry teacher and lab in charge, Mrs. Soumya Joshi
for guiding me on a systematic basis, ensuring that I completed all my
experiments with ease.

I would also like to thank my family and friends for their help and support during
these difficult times to complete the project on time.
 CONTENTS

TOPIC PAGE NO
1. Objective 1

2. Introduction 2

3. Theory 4

4. Types and harmful effects 5

5. Precautions 8

6. Experiment 1 9

7. Experiment 2 10

8. Observation 11

9. Conclusion 12

10. Bibliography 13
 Objective

The objective of this project is to study some of the common food adulterants
present in different food stuffs.

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 Introduction
Among man’s everyday needs, food plays a major sustaining role. Pure, fresh and
healthy diet is most essential for the health of the people. It is no wonder to say
that community health is national wealth.
When we buy fresh veggies and other groceries, we might have come across
small pebbles in cereals and grains, darkly stained vegetables like cabbage,
broccoli, fruits, dark red meat and a lot more. Adulteration or contamination of
natural food products is one of the major challenges in today’s society.

Adulteration of food is commonly defined as the addition or subtraction of any

substance to or from food, so that the natural composition and quality of food
substance is affected. Adulteration in food is normally present in its most crude
form wherein prohibited substances are either added partly or wholly substituted.

REASONS FOR 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.

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At one point adulteration of food-stuff was so rampant and persistent that 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 antisocial evil a concerted
effort was made by our government through the 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.

About the middle of the 19th century, knowledge of chemicals and microscopes
had reached a stage that food substances could be analysed at microscopic level
and the subject of food adulteration began to be studied from the standpoint of
the rights and welfare of the consumer.

Many consumer laws were implemented 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 execution of uniform Central legislation was strongly felt. Central Advisory
Board of Health recommended the inclusion of ‘Adulteration of food-stuffs and
other goods’ in the Concurrent List (III) in the Constitution of India which
enabled the Central Government to an enact all India legislation on this subject.
This Bill replaces all local food adulteration laws and also applies to those States
where there were no local laws on the subject.

GOVERNMENT MEASURES: To keep a tab on traders indulging in

malpractices, the government has passed a stringent act which is known as
Prevention of Food Adulteration Act. They have been implemented with the
objective of safeguarding the interests of the consumers against contamination of
food products by poisonous elements. The specification laid down for various
foods under the provisions of PFA Act covers minimum basic characteristics of
the products below which it is deemed to be adulterated and also covers the
maximum limit of contaminant not considered being safe for human beings
beyond a certain level.

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 THEORY

The increasing number of food producers and the outstanding amount of import
foodstuffs enable 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 can lead to poisoning. So, we need simple screening tests for their
detection.

Food is declared adulterated if:

➢ A substance is added which depreciates or injuriously affects it.

➢ Cheaper or inferior substances are substituted wholly or in part.
➢ Any valuable or necessary constituent has been wholly or in part
abstracted.
➢ It is an imitation.
➢ It is coloured or otherwise treated, to improve its appearance or if it
contains any added substance injurious to health.
➢ For whatever reasons its quality is below the Standard.

Methods of Food Adulteration

➢ Adding certain chemicals for faster ripening of fruits.

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

Adulterants can be generally classified into

Intentional Adulterants such as Sand, marble chips, stones, mud, other filth, talc,
chalk powder, water, mineral oil and harmful colour.
Incidental adulterants such as Pesticide residues, droppings of rodents, larvae in
foods

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Metallic contaminants such as arsenic from pesticides, lead from water, effluent
from chemical industries, tin from cans

Types of Adulterants and their harmful effects

Food Products Adulterant Harmful Effects

Water and starch

Milk and Curd Stomach disorders.
powder.

Mashed potatoes, Gastro-intestinal

Ghee, Cheese and
Vanaspati and starch disturbances and other
Butter
powder. stomach disorders.

Dust, Pebbles, Stones, Liver disorders,

Grains Straw, weed seeds, Toxicity in the body,
damaged grain, etc. etc.

Dyes, chemical and

Pulses Stomach disorders.
Lead Chromate.

Chicory, tamarind
Coffee powder Diarrhoea.
seeds powder.

Artificial colouring
Tea Liver disorders.
agents.

Pepper oil, ethyl Dreadful diseases that

acetate, butyraldehyde, affect organs including
Ice Cream
nitrate, washing lungs, kidneys, and
powder. heart

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 Severe allergic
Dried papaya seeds reactions including
Pepper
and blackberries. stomach and skin
irritations.
Abdominal
contractions,
Mustard seeds Argemone seeds.
sluggishness and
increased excretion.
Gallbladder cancer,
Mineral oil, Karanja allergies, paralysis,
Edible Oils oil, castor oil and cardiac arrest, and
artificial colours. increased LDL
cholesterol.
Pesticide residues,
sawdust, chalk dust,
Cancer and Stomach
Turmeric Powder industrial dyes, meta
disorders.
nil yellow dye arsenic,
lead metal etc.
Redbrick powder,
Metal toxicity, Cancer,
Rhodamine B dye, red
lead poisoning,
lead, dung powder,
Chilli and Coriander tumour, variations in
soluble salts, water-
powder blood pressure and
soluble synthetic
other stomach related
colours and other
disorders.
common salts.
Liver Damage, Low
Blood Sugar, Mouth
Cinnamon sticks Cassia bark.
Sores and increased
risk of cancer.
Coloured grass seeds,
Cumin seeds sawdust and charcoal Stomach disorders.
dust
These dyes are highly
Non-permitted dyes
carcinogenic that have
Jam, Juice and including meta nil
the potential to cause
Candies yellow and other
different types of
artificial food dyes.
cancer.
Washing soda, chalk Vomiting and other
Jaggery
powder Stomach disorders
Molasses, dextrose,
Honey Stomach disorders
sugar and corn syrups
Chemical dyes, Stomach disorders,
Fruits and Vegetables
Malachite green, vomiting, and dyes

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 calcium carbide, used are highly
copper sulphate and carcinogenic.
oxytocin saccharin
wax.
Pumpkin pulp, non- Gastritis and
Tomato sauces edible artificial inflammation of vital
colours and flavours. organs.

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 is mixed with dried papaya seeds. These adulterants can be easily
identified by simple chemical tests.

Consumer awareness is the remedy for eliminating the evil of adulteration and
sale of substandard food article. Several agencies have been set up by the
Government of India to remove adulterants from food stuff.

AGMARK: Acronym for agricultural marketing.

This organization certifies food products for their quality. Their objective is to
promote the Grading and Standardization of agricultural and allied commodities.

FSSAI – Food Safety and Standards Authority of India Food Safety and
Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is an autonomous body established under
the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India. The FSSAI has
been established under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 which is a
consolidating statute related to food safety and regulation in India
Every year, the 7th of April is celebrated as the World Health Day globally and
as per the reports, WHO aims to bring a general awareness about the adulterations
of food products, motivate and inspire everybody to have a healthy, balanced diet.

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 PRECAUTIONS
From a simple dish to the most elaborate haute cuisine, food preparation is as
varied and rich as man’s taste. The lure of riches and general apathy towards
mankind has led to adulterants being added to food from the simple stones in rice
to the more harmful brick and boric powder. Common man unfortunately remains
largely unaware of these adulterants and consume food without thorough checks.

Some of the common adulterated foods are milk and milk products, atta, edible
oils, cereals, condiments (whole and ground), pulses, coffee, tea, confectionary,
baking powder, non-alcoholic beverages, vinegar, besan and curry powder.
Adulteration of food cheats the consumer and can pose serious risk to health.

Mere visual inspection does not serve the purpose especially when adulteration
has assumed high degree of sophistication. By taking a few precautions, we can
protect ourselves from consuming adulterated products.

➢ Do not buy sweets or snacks kept in open

➢ Avoid dark coloured, junk and other processed foods.
➢ Buy items from reliable retail shops and recognized outlets
➢ Make sure to clean and store all the grains, pulses and other food products.
➢ Wash fruits and vegetables thoroughly in running water before they are
used.
➢ Check if the seal is valid or not, before buying food products like milk, oil
and other pouches.
➢ Check for the ISI or Agmark. 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 date.

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 EXPERIMENT I
Aim: To detect the presence of adulterants in sugar.

Apparatus Required: Test-tubes, dil. HCl.

Procedure: Sugar is usually contaminated with washing soda and other insoluble
substances which are detected as follows:

(i) Adulteration of various insoluble substances in sugar: Take small

amount of sugar in a test-tube and shake it with little water. Pure sugar
dissolves in water but insoluble impurities do not dissolve.
(ii) 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.

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 EXPERIMENT II

Aim: To detect the presence of adulterants in samples of chili powder, 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 and dried papaya seeds
respectively. They are detected as follows:
(i) Adulteration of red lead salts in chili powder: To a sample of chili
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.
(ii) Adulteration of yellow lead salts to turmeric powder: To a sample of
turmeric powder add conc. HCl. Appearance of magenta colour shows
the presence of yellow oxides of lead in turmeric powder.
(iii) Adulteration of brick powder in red chili powder: Add small amount of
given red chili powder in beaker containing water. Brick powder settles
at the bottom while pure chili powder floats over water.
(iv) Adulteration of dried papaya seeds in pepper: Add small amount 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 at the bottom.

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 OBSERVATIONS
EXPERIMENT EXPERIMENT PROCEDURE OBSERVATION
NO:

1. Adulteration of various Adulteration of Pure sugar

insoluble substances in various insoluble dissolves in water
sugar substances in but insoluble
sugar impurities do not
dissolve
2. Adulteration of chalk To small amount No brisk
powder, washing soda of sugar in a test effervescence
in sugar tube, add a few observed
drops of dil HCL
3. Adulteration of yellow To sample of Appearance of
lead salts to turmeric turmeric powder, magenta colour
powder add conc. HCl
4. Adulteration of red lead To a sample of No yellow
salts in chilli powder. chilli powder, add precipitate
dil. HNO3. Filter
the solution and
add 2 drops of KI
solution to the
filtrate.
5. Adulteration of brick Add small Brick powder
powder in chilli powder amount of given settles at the
red chilli powder bottom while pure
in a beaker chilli powder floats
containing water over water
6. Adulteration of dried Add small Dried papaya seeds
papaya seeds in pepper amount of sample being lighter float
of pepper to a over water while
beaker containing pure pepper settles
water and stir at the bottom
with a glass rod

RESULT: The required analysis for adulterants in food stuffs has been made.

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 REPORT

After conducting the above experiment, it can be clearly seen that our common
kitchen items have been adulterated and they can be identified by simple chemical
tests.
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 at ppm level.
However, visual examination of the food before purchase makes sure to ensure
absence of insects, visual fungus, foreign matters, etc. Therefore, due care taken
by the consumer at the time 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.
We must be careful with our daily consumption of commercially made items and
switch to better alternatives. The consumer should avoid taking food from
unhygienic places and food being prepared under unhygienic conditions as they
may cause various diseases.
It is always better to buy certified food items. Alternatively home-made spices
are being considered by many families around and so are self-grown gardens.
They ensure that food is unhampered and safe for consumption on a regular basis.

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 BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. Laboratory Manual CHEMISTRY Class XII

2. http://www.google.co.in
3. http://www.icbse.com
4. http://www.wikipedia.org
5. https://www.ijert.org/survey-on-adulteration-in-food-products-
and-image-processing-techniques-used-for-its-detection
6. https://www.sciencedirect.com/
7. https://www.indiatoday.in/education-today

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