Tests for Detecting Adulteration in Food

The adulterants present in different food items can be easily identified by simple tests
described below:
1. Vanaspati in Ghee or Butter:
Take small amount of desi ghee or butter in test-tube. Heat the test-tube to melt the ghee. Add
to an equal amount of conc. HCl and a small amount of sugar. Shake the contents vigorously
for a minute and allow the tube to stand for about five minutes. Appearance of crimson color
in the lower acid layer shows that vanaspati ghee has been mixed as an adulterant to desi
ghee.
2. Paraffin wax and Hydrocarbons in Vanaspati Ghee:
Heat small amount of vanaspati ghee with acetic anhydride. Droplets of oil floating on the
surface of unused acetic anhydride indicate the presence of wax or hydrocarbon.
3. Argemone oil in Edible oil:
To small amount of oil in a test-tube, and few drops of conc. HNO3 and shake. Appearance of
red color in the acid layer indicates presence of argemone oil.
4. Brick powder in red chilli powder:
Add small amount of chili powder in beaker containing water. Brick powder settles at the
bottom while pure chili powder floats over water.
5. Metanil Yellow in Dal:
Take about 5 g of dal in a test-tube and add about 5 ml of water to it. Shake the contents well
and add a few drops of hydrochloric acid (HCl). Appearance of pink color indicates the
presence of metanil yellow.
6. Lead chromite in Turmeric Powder:
Take a small amount of sample turmeric powder in a test-tube and add to it dil. HNO3. Filter
and filterate add a few drops of potassium iodide solution. Appearance of yellow precipitate
indicates the presence of lead salts as adulterant.
7. Water in Milk:
The presence of water in milk can be tested by the following two tests:

(i) Pure milk is thick but when it is adulterated with water its viscosity decreases. It becomes
thin and flows easily. So to check the adulteration of milk with water, put a drop of milk
sample on the surface of a vertically held glass plate. If the drop of milk either stays on the
surface or moves down slowly leaving a white trail behind it then it shows that the milk
sample is pure and is not adulterated with water. If on the other hand, the milk sample readily
flows down then it shows that the milk sample is adulterated with water. However, this test
cannot be applied to test the adulteration of skimmed milk (the milk from which cream has
been removed) with water. For skimmed milk, a device called lactometer is used to test the
purity of milk.
(ii) The relative density of pure milk is 1.026. On adding water to pure milk, the relative
density of pure milk decreases and this can be detected by using a lactometer. Lactometer is a
cylindrical device that measures the density of the fluid. It has markings of relative density
values on it. When the lactometer tube is put in the sample of milk taken in a cylinder it starts
floating in it. The relative density value in level with the surface of milk gives the relative
density of milk. For a milk sample, which is adulterated with water the relative density, value
comes out to be less than 1.026.
Pasteurization (American English) which is also spelt pasteurisation (British English[1]) is a
process that kills bacteria in liquid food.
It was invented by French scientist Louis Pasteur during the nineteenth century. In 1864,
Pasteur discovered that heating beer and wine was enough to kill most of the bacteria that
caused spoilage, preventing these beverages from turning sour. The process achieves this by
eliminating pathogenic microbes and lowering microbial numbers to prolong the quality of
the beverage. Today, pasteurisation is used widely in the dairy and food industries for
microbial control and preservation of food.
Gamma radiation (sometimes called gamma ray), denoted by the lower-case Greek letter
gamma (), is extremely high-frequency electromagnetic radiation and therefore consists of
high-energy photons. Paul Villard, a French chemist and physicist, discovered gamma
radiation in 1900 while studying radiation emitted by radium. In 1903, Ernest Rutherford
named this radiation gamma rays. Rutherford had previously discovered two other types of
radioactive decay, which he named alpha and beta rays.
Gamma rays are ionizing radiation, and are thus biologically hazardous. Decay of an atomic
nucleus from a high energy state to a lower energy state, a process called gamma decay,
produces gamma radiation. This is what Villard had observed.
A refrigerator (colloquially fridge, also ref in Philippines) is a ubiquitous
household appliance that consists of a thermally insulated compartment and a
heat pump (mechanical, electronic or chemical) that transfers heat from the
inside of the fridge to its external environment so that the inside of the fridge is
cooled to a temperature below the ambient temperature of the room.

Refrigeration is an essential food storage technique in developed countries. The

lower temperature lowers the reproduction rate of bacteria, so the refrigerator
reduces the rate of spoilage. A refrigerator maintains a temperature a few
degrees above the freezing point of water. Optimum temperature range for
perishable food storage is 3 to 5 C (37 to 41 F).[1] A similar device that
maintains a temperature below the freezing point of water is called a freezer.
The refrigerator replaced the icebox, which had been a common household
appliance for almost a century and a half. For this reason, a refrigerator is
sometimes referred to as an icebox in American usage.

Food preservation involves preventing the growth of bacteria, fungi (such as yeasts), or other
micro-organisms (although some methods work by introducing benign bacteria or fungi to the
food), as well as retarding the oxidation of fats that cause rancidity. Food preservation may
also include processes that inhibit visual deterioration, such as the enzymatic browning
reaction in apples after they are cut during food preparation.
Many processes designed to preserve food will involve a number of food preservation
methods. Preserving fruit by turning it into jam, for example, involves boiling (to reduce the
fruits moisture content and to kill bacteria, etc.), sugaring (to prevent their re-growth) and
sealing within an airtight jar (to prevent recontamination). Some traditional methods of
preserving food have been shown to have a lower energy input and carbon footprint, when
compared to modern methods.[1] However, some methods of food preservation are known to
create carcinogens, and in 2015, the International Agency for Research on Cancer of the
World Health Organization classified processed meat, i.e. meat that has undergone salting,
curing, fermenting, and smoking, as "carcinogenic to humans".
Foodborne illness and the health risks from chemicals in food are a concern.
However, food safety statutes largely unchanged for more than forty years are
failing to keep pace with scientific advances and the changing food supply. The
FDA Food Safety Modernization Act, enacted in January 2011, is intended to help
reduce foodborne illness by establishing new prevention measures for food
regulated by the Food and Drug Administration. Additional funding is needed so
that the agency has enough resources to help realize the law's potential.
Furthermore, key food safety issues untouched by the 2011 statute, including
restrictions on antibiotic use in animal agriculture, laws governing meat and
poultry safety, and requirements governing the use of chemicals in food, should
be reviewed and updated as necessary-using up-to-date science-to tighten the
focus on preventing disease.
A vitamin (US /vatmn/ and UK /vtmn/) is an organic compound and a vital
nutrient that an organism requires in limited amounts. An organic chemical
compound (or related set of compounds) is called a vitamin when the organism
cannot synthesize the compound in sufficient quantities, and it must be obtained
through the diet; thus, the term "vitamin" is conditional upon the circumstances
and the particular organism. For example, ascorbic acid (one form of vitamin C) is
a vitamin for humans, but not for most other animal organisms. Supplementation

is important for the treatment of certain health problems, [1] but there is little
evidence of nutritional benefit when used by otherwise healthy people.
Fibrous foods are any kinds of foods which contain plant cellulose, which can't be
digested by the human body. These include grains and whole-grain products,
vegetables, fruits, beans, peas, legumes, seeds and nuts. Processed fibrous foods
such as canned fruit, sugary cereals and refined grains also don't contain as
much fiber as unprocessed fibrous foods. For example, four slices of white bread
contain 3g of fiber whereas four slices of whole-grain bread contain 5.7g of fiber.

Fat is one of the three main macronutrients: fat, carbohydrate, and protein.[1] Fats, also
known as triglycerides, are esters of three fatty acid chains and the alcohol glycerol.
The terms "oil", "fat", and "lipid" are often confused. "Oil" normally refers to a fat with short
or unsaturated fatty acid chains that is liquid at room temperature, while "fat" may specifically
refer to fats that are solids at room temperature. "Lipid" is the general term, as a lipid is not
necessarily a triglyceride. Fats, like other lipids, are generally hydrophobic, and are soluble in
organic solvents and insoluble in water.
Proteins (/protinz/ or /proti.nz/) are large biomolecules, or macromolecules,
consisting of one or more long chains of amino acid residues. Proteins perform a
vast array of functions within living organisms, including catalyzing metabolic
reactions, DNA replication, responding to stimuli, and transporting molecules
from one location to another. Proteins differ from one another primarily in their
sequence of amino acids, which is dictated by the nucleotide sequence of their
genes, and which usually results in protein folding into a specific threedimensional structure that determines its activity.

A carbohydrate is a biological molecule consisting of carbon (C), hydrogen (H) and oxygen
(O) atoms, usually with a hydrogenoxygen atom ratio of 2:1 (as in water); in other words,
with the empirical formula Cm(H2O)n (where m could be different from n).[1] Some exceptions
exist; for example, deoxyribose, a sugar component of DNA,[2] has the empirical formula
C5H10O4.[3] Carbohydrates are technically hydrates of carbon;[4] structurally it is more accurate
to view them as polyhydroxy aldehydes and ketones.[5]
The term is most common in biochemistry, where it is a synonym of saccharide, a group that
includes sugars, starch, and cellulose. The saccharides are divided into four chemical groups:
monosaccharides, disaccharides, oligosaccharides, and polysaccharides. In general, the
monosaccharides and disaccharides, which are smaller (lower molecular weight)
carbohydrates, are commonly referred to as sugars.