The document is a student's investigatory project on food adulteration from the 2013-2014 academic year. It includes an introduction describing common food adulterants and their health risks. It then outlines experiments conducted to test for common adulterants in foods like milk, sugar, honey, chili powder, salt, turmeric, and wheat flour. The results of these tests on different brands are presented. The project concludes that visual inspection alone is not enough to ensure safe food and provides precautions consumers can take to avoid adulterated products.

1. KENDRIYA VIDYALAYA NAD KARANJA
ADULTERATION IN
FOODS
Investigatory Project
2013-2014
1

2. DECLARATION
I, Name of Student student of 12th
Science,
Kendriya Vidyalaya NAD Karanja hereby declare
that I have completed this investigatory project
on ADULTERATION IN FOODS in the academic
year 2013-2014.
Signature:Name of Student
12th Science
2

3. First and foremost I would like to thanks my
teacher
Teachers
name
for
her/his
constant
guidance and support.
I would also like to extend my sincere gratitude to
Name of lab Attender (Lab Attender) who has
helped me in the successful completion of my
project entitled
“ADULTERATION IN FOODS”.
Signature:Name of Student
12th A (Science)
3

4. This is to certify that Name of Student of 12th
science has completed his investigatory project
entitled on “ADULTERATION IN FOODS” during
the academic year 2013-2014 for his partial
fulfillment of his academic course.
To the best of my knowledge, the subject matter
present in the project is original and bonafide in
nature.
Date: Project Guide: - Teachers name
Place: - School Name
4

5. S.No
Contents
Page No.
1
Introduction
06, 07 & 08
2
Experiments
09
3
Results
10 & 11
4
Precautions
12
5
Conclusion
13
6
Bibliography
14
5

6. “DEEP ROOTED SOCIAL EVIL”
Among man’s everyday needs, food plays a major sustaining role. From the
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.
Adulteration of food 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
altering the
adulteration
facilities for
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is either intentional by either removing substances to food or
existing natural properties of food knowingly. Unintentional
is usually attributed to ignorance’s, carelessness or lack of
maintaining food quality.

7. The 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. 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 stuffs.
AGMARK - AGricultural MARKeting.
This organization certifies food products for their quality. Its objective is
to promote the Grading and Standardization of agricultural and allied
commodities.
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8. 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 colored 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
Types of Adulterants:
Type
Substances Added
Intentional Adulterants
Sand, marble chips, stones, mud, other filth, talc,
chalk powder, water, mineral oil and harmful colour.
Pesticide residues, droppings of rodents, larvae in
foods.
Arsenic from pesticides, lead from water, effluent
from chemical industries, tin from cans.
Incidental adulterants
Metallic contaminants
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9. S.no
Food
Article
Adulterant
Test
1
Milk
Water
2
Milk
Starch
3
Milk
Detergent
4
Sugar
Chalk
powder
5
Honey
Water
6
Chili
powder
Brick
powder
7
Common
salt
Chalk
powder
8
Turmeric
powder
Yellow lead
salts
9
Wheat
flour
Chalk
powder
Put a drop of milk on a polished slanting
surface. The drop of pure milk either
flows slowly leaving a white trail behind it,
whereas milk adulterated with water will
flow immediately without leaving a mark.
Add a few drops of tincture Iodine or
Iodine solution. Formation of blue colour
indicates the presence of starch.
Shake 5-10 ml. of sample with an equal
amount of water. Lather indicates the
presence of detergent.
Dissolve 10 gm of sugar in a glass of
water, allow settling. Chalk will settle
down at the bottom.
A cotton wick dipped in pure honey when
lighted with a match stick burns and shows
the purity of honey. If adulterated, the
presence of water will not allow the honey
to burn. If it does it will produce a
cracking sound.
Any grittiness felt on rubbing the sediment
at the bottom of glass confirms the
presence of brick powder.
Dissolve 10 gm of salt in a glass of water,
allow settling. Chalk will settle down at the
bottom.
To a sample of turmeric powder add conc.
HCl. Appearance of magenta colour shows
the presence of yellow oxides of lead in
turmeric powder.
Shake sample with dil.HCl. Effervescence
indicates chalk.
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10. The following are the result for the experiment done
Test for Water in Milk
Brand A
Brand B
Test for Starch in Milk
Brand A
Brand B
Test for Detergent in Milk
Brand A
Brand B
Test for Chalk powder in Sugar
Brand A
Brand B
10

11. Test for Water in Honey
Brand A
Brand B
Test for Brick powder in Chilli powder
Brand A
Brand B
Test for Chalk powder in Comman Salt
Brand A
Brand B
Test for Yellow lead salts in Turmeric powder
Brand A
Brand B
Test for Chalk powder in Wheat flour
Brand A
Brand B
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12. 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 the ISI mark or Ag mark.
4. Buy products of only air tight popular brands.
5. Avoid craziness for artificially colored sweets
and buy only from reputed shops.
6. Do not buy sweets or snacks kept in open.
7. Avoid buying things from street side vendors.
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13. 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.
Firstly,
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.
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.
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14. APC Laboratory Manual CHEMISTRY Class XII
http://www.google.co.in
http://www.icbse.com
http://www.wikipedia.org
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