C H E M I S T R Y

P R O J E C T

Adulterants
In Food
 INDEX
S.No Contents Page n.o
1. Certificate

2. Acknowledgement

3. Objective

4. Introduction

5. Theory

6. Experiment 1

7. Experiment 2

8. Experiment 3

9. Precautions

10. Conclusion

11. Bibliography
 OBJECTIVE
The Objective of this project is to study some of the common food
adulterants present in different food items. Adulteration in food is
normally present in its most crude form; prohibited substances are
either added partly or wholly substituted. Normally the
contamination/adulteration in food is done either for financial gain
or due to carelessness and lack of proper hygienic conditions of
processing, storing, transportation and marketing. Due to this the
consumer is either cheated or often becomes a victim of diseases.
Such types of adulteration are quite common in developing
countries or backward countries. It is equally important for the
consumer to know the common adulterants and their effect on
health.
INTRODUCTION
Food is one of the basic necessities of life. A fresh & healthy diet is most
essential for the health of people . It is no wonder to say that community
health is national wealth.
In the current scenario, adulteration of food has become so widespread
and persistent that nothing short of a somewhat drastic remedy became
the need of the hour.
To keep a check on this kind of anti-social evil a determined onslaught
was launched by the government by introduction of the “ Prevention of
food adulteration bill ” in the parliament to herald an era of much
needed hope and relief for consumers at large . About the middle of 11th
century the chemical and microscopical knowledge had reached the
stage that food substance could be analyzed and the subject of
adulteration began to be studied from the standpoint of the rights and
welfare of consumer.
 THEORY
The increasing number of food producers and the outstanding amount of
imported food enables 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 behavior may
endanger consumer health and misleading can lead to poisoning.

Hence we need simple screening tests for their detection. In the past few
decades, adulteration of food has become one of the most serious
problems. Consumption of adulterated food causes serious diseases like -

● Cancer
● Diarrhea
● Asthma
● Ulcers.

Majority of fats, oils and butter are paraffin wax, castor oil and
hydrocarbons. Red chili powder is mixed with brick powder and pepper is
mixed with dried papaya seeds. These adulterants can be easily identified
by simple chemical tests.

Several agencies have been set up by the Government of India to remove

adulterants from food stuffs. Such as “AGMARK” - (an acronym for
agricultural marketing). This organization certifies food products for their
quality. Its objective is to promote the Grading and Standardization of
agricultural and allied commodities.
 EXPERIMENT - 1
AIM: To detect the presence of adulterants in fat, oil and butter.

MATERIALS REQUIRED: Test-tube, acetic anhydride, conc. H2SO4, acetic

acid, conc. HNO3

PROCEDURE:Common adulterants present in ghee and oil are paraffin wax,

hydrocarbons, dyes and argemone oil. These are detected as follows :

❖ Adulteration of paraffin wax and hydrocarbon in vegetable ghee - Heat small

amounts of vegetable ghee with acetic anhydride. Droplets of oil floating on the
surface of unused acetic anhydride indicate the presence of wax or
hydrocarbons.

❖ Adulteration of dyes in fat - Heat 1mL of fat with a mixture of 1mL of conc.
sulphuric acid and 4mL of acetic acid. Appearance of pink or red color indicates
the presence of dye in fat.

❖ Adulteration of argemone oil in edible oils - Add small amounts of oil in a test-
tube and add a few drops of conc. HNO3 and shake well. Appearance of red
colour in the acid layer indicates presence of argemone oil.
 EXPERIMENT - 2
AIM: To detect the presence of adulterants in sugar

MATERIALS REQUIRED: Test-tubes, dil. HCl.

PROCEDURE: Sugar is usually contaminated with washing soda and

other insoluble substances which are detected as follows :

❖ Adulteration of various insoluble substances in sugar- Take a

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.

❖ Adulteration of chalk powder, washing soda in sugar- To small

amount of sugar in a test-tube, add a few drops of dil. HCl. Brisk
effervescence of CO2 shows the presence of chalk powder or
washing soda in the given sample of sugar.
 EXPERIMENT - 3
AIM :To detect the presence of adulterants in samples of chilli powder,
turmeric powder and pepper .

MATERIALS REQUIRED: Test-tubes, conc. HCl, dil. HNO3, KI solution

PROCEDURE: Common adulterants present in chilli powder, turmeric

powder and pepper are red coloured lead salts, yellow lead salts and dried
papaya seeds respectively. They are detected as follows :

❖ Adulteration of red lead salts in chilli powder -To a sample of chilli

powder, add dil. HNO3. Filter the solution and add 2 drops of potassium
iodide solution to the filtrate. Yellow ppt. indicates the presence of lead
salts in chilli powder.

❖ 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.

❖ Adulteration of brick powder in red chilli powder- Add a small amount

of given red chilli powder in a beaker containing water. Brick powder
settles at the bottom while pure chilli powder floats over water.

❖ Adulteration of dried papaya seeds in pepper- Add a small amount of

sample of pepper to a beaker containing water and stir with a glass rod.
Dried papaya seeds being lighter float over water while pure pepper
settles at the bottom.
 OBSERVATION
EXPT. EXPERIMENT NAME PROCEDURE OBSERVATION
NO
1. Adulteration of Heat a small amount Appearance of oil
paraffin wax and of vegetable ghee floating on surface
hydrocarbon in with acetic anhydride.
vegetable ghee. Droplets of oil surface.
vegetable ghee
floating on the surface
of unused acetic
anhydride indicates
the presence of wax or
hydrocarbon.

2. Adulteration dyes in fat Heat 1 ml of fat with a Appearance of pink

mixture of 1 ml of colour
conc.H2SO4
and 4ml of acetic acid.

3. Adulteration of argemone oil To a small amount of No red colour

in edible oils oil in a test tube, add observed
a few drops of conc.
HNO3 & shake well
4. Adulteration of various Take small amount of Pure sugar dissolves
insoluble substance in sugar sugar in a test tube water but insoluble
and shake it with little impurities do not
water dissolve

5. Adulteration of chalk powder, To a small amount of No brisk

washing soda in sugar sugar in a test tube effervescence
add a few drops of dil.
HCl

6. Adulteration of yellow lead To a sample of chilli Appearance of

salts to turmeric powder powder add conc. HCl magenta colour

7. Adulteration of red lead salts To a sample of chilli No yellow

in chilli powder powder add dil.HNO3. precipitate
Filter the solution and
so add 2 drops of KI
solution to the filtrate.

8. Adulteration of brick powder Add small amount of Prick powder settles

in chilli powder given red chilli powder at the bottom while
in a beaker containing pure chilli powder
water. floats over water.

9. Adulteration of dried papaya Add small amount of Dried papaya seeds

seeds in pepper sample of pepper to a being lighter float
beaker with water and over water while
stir with glass rod pure pepper settles
at the bottom.
 PRECAUTIONS
By taking a few precautions, we can escape
from consuming adulterated products:

1.Take only packed items of well - known companies.

2.Buy items from reliable retail shops and recognized

outlets.

3.Check for the ISI mark or agmark.

4.Buy only airtight products of popular brands.

5. Avoid craziness for artificially coloured sweets and

buy only from reputable shops.

6.Do not buy sweets or snacks kept in the open.

7.Avoid buying things from street side vendors.

 CONCLUSION
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 in ppm level. However, visual examination
of the food before purchase makes sure to ensure absence of insects,
visual fungus, foreign matters, etc. Therefore, the consumer should be
careful at the time of purchase of food. 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. The consumer should avoid taking food from an
unhygienic place and food being prepared under unhygienic conditions.
Such types of food may cause various diseases. Consumption of cut fruits
being sold in unhygienic conditions should be avoided. It is always better
to buy certified food from reputed shop.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
● ENCARTA ENCYCLOPEDIA 2009

● www.wikipedia.org

● www.answers.com

● www.icbse.com

● www.google.com

● Comprehensive practical manual

● Ncert textbook

● www.youtube.com
THANK
YOU