Question

What do you understand by food adulteration? Explain.

Hint:

To remember the concept, think of adulteration as any action that makes food "impure" or "deceptive." A simple way for consumers to protect themselves is to buy whole spices instead of powders and to look for trusted certification marks like {FSSAI} and {Agmark} on packaged goods.

Answer 1

Food adulteration is the act of intentionally degrading the quality of food offered for sale, either by the addition of inferior or harmful substances or by the removal of some valuable ingredient. It is a fraudulent practice done primarily to increase profits, but it poses serious health risks to consumers.
Explanation of Food Adulteration: Food adulteration can be explained in several ways:
Addition of Inferior Substances: This involves mixing a cheaper, low-quality substance with a high-quality food product to increase its weight or volume.
Example: Mixing papaya seeds in black peppercorns, adding water to milk, or mixing brick powder in chili powder.

Removal of a Valuable Component: In this type, a nutritious part of the food is extracted, and the remaining inferior product is sold.
Example: Removing the oil from cloves or cardamom and then selling the exhausted spices.

Addition of Harmful or Banned Substances: This is the most dangerous form of adulteration, where substances that are toxic or non-permissible are added, often to enhance colour or appearance.
Example: Adding metanil yellow (a non-permitted colour) to turmeric powder or pulses to give them a bright yellow colour.

Misbranding: This involves selling food with a false label, such as providing incorrect information about the manufacturing date, expiry date, nutritional content, or ingredients.
The consequences of consuming adulterated food can range from mild digestive issues to severe health problems like cancer, paralysis, and organ damage.