Food adulteration involves lowering the quality of food by removing vital components or adding inferior substances known as adulterants like marble pieces in grains, colors in pulses and sweets, lime in wheat flour, and argemone oil in ghee and butter. Adulterated food can cause health issues like headaches, gastrointestinal problems, and even cancer from colors like metanil yellow. The Prevention of Food Adulteration Act regulates standards and punishes traders who violate them. Common detection methods identify adulterants through magnets, visual sorting, floating tests, and color changes with acids.