Celebrate diwali festival safely:A closer look at food adulteration.

What is food fraud and adulteration ?

Food fraud and adulteration are more widespread than you might think, especially during festival seasons like Diwali. Food adulteration is the deliberate addition of unwholesome, dangerous, or low-quality ingredients to food items for financial benefit or dishonest ends. These compounds, also referred to as adulterants, are frequently less expensive than the original components, enabling dishonest producers or marketers to maximize profits at the risk of the health and safety of the consumer. The quality, nutritional value, flavor, and safety of food items can all be harmed by food adulteration.

Common forms of food adulteration include:

• Dilution with Water: Increasing the volume and weight of goods like milk, fruit juices, or honey by adding water reduces the price per unit.
• Addition of artificial color and flavor: Adding artificial dyes and tastes to improve the flavor and appearance of food products, particularly in sweets and snacks.
• Substitution: Using less expensive ingredients in place of more expensive ones. For instance,Using less expensive ingredients in place of more expensive ones. For instance, using less expensive oils or substituting pure spices instead of high-quality olive
• Spice and condiment adulteration: Adding additional ingredients to spices, such as sawdust, brick powder, or chalk, to make them heavier and more voluminous.
• Contamination with Unsafe Substances:Addition of hazardous chemicals or other impurities to food products, which might have negative health effects when consumed.
• Use of Poor Ingredients: Using poor or rotten ingredients to produce culinary products.
• Mislabeling and False Branding: False branding and incorrect labeling involve misrepresenting a food product's composition or point of origin on the label or package.
• Preservatives and Additives: To increase the shelf life of perishable goods, excessive doses of preservatives, additives, or synthetic chemicals are added.

Food Adulteration Detection

• Check the label: Always read the product labels and packaging to learn about the contents, the date of manufacture, and the nutritional information. The right labeling should be on genuine products.
• Purchase from Credible Sources: Buy food from producers or retailers that are trustworthy and well-established. Buy food from producers or retailers that are trustworthy and well-established. Sellers who are unreliable might be more likely to use adulterants.
• Quality assurance: Look at the way food goods look, taste, and smell. Unusual tastes, colors, or scents could be signs of adulteration.
• Testing Kits: Some basic testing kits, such as milk adulteration test kits, are available to check for food adulteration at home. These might yield fast outcomes.
• Product Suspiciousness Reporting: Report suspected adulteration to the appropriate authorities or consumer protection organizations. You can prevent others from consuming contaminated food by your actions.

Health Dangers of Consuming Adulterated Foods

Food adulteration can have detrimental effects on one's health.Adulterants are routinely added to food products in an effort to boost profits, but they can be dangerous to consumers' health. The following are some health risks connected to eating tainted food.

• Foodborne Illnesses: During the adulteration process, germs, bacteria, and viruses can infect food products. Foodborne infections like salmonella, E. coli infection, and gastroenteritis can result from consuming contaminated foods. Frequent symptoms include fever, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and abdominal pain.
• Allergic Reactions: Some adulterants, especially hidden allergens, can make sensitive people extremely allergic. For instance, people who are allergic to nuts or dairy may have anaphylaxis if a food product contains these ingredients secretly.
• Allergic Reactions: Some adulterants, especially hidden allergens, can make sensitive people extremely allergic. For instance, people who are allergic to nuts or dairy may have anaphylaxis if a food product contains these ingredients secretly.
• Exposure to Toxic Chemicals: Adulterants may contain toxic substances including pesticides, heavy metals, or synthetic colors. Chronic health issues, such as neurological diseases, organ damage, and cancer, can be brought on by long-term exposure to these toxins through contaminated foods.
• Reduced Nutritional Value: Food products' nutritional value can be drastically decreased when they are diluted with water or low-quality ingredients. Nutrient shortages may result from eating these tainted foods, particularly in vulnerable groups like children and the elderly.
• Gastrointestinal Issues: Adulterated foods can irritate the digestive tract and cause gastrointestinal issues, particularly if they include too many preservatives or additives. Bloating, gas, indigestion, and diarrhea are possible symptoms.
• Risk to Vulnerable Populations: The health risks linked to eating contaminated foods are particularly high for infants, young children, pregnant women, the elderly, and people with weakened immune systems. Their immune systems may be less effective at warding off poisons and pollutants.
• Effects on Long-Term Health: Consuming contaminated foods over an extended period of time might result in chronic health issues like obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and gastrointestinal diseases. The quality of life for a person may be negatively impacted by these health problems.
• Psychological Stress: Learning that you've eaten tainted food can create serious psychological discomfort, which can result in anxiety, dread, and a lack of faith in your ability to obtain food.

Quick test for some adulteration in food

1. Milk and milk product: There are some quick tests you can do to look for suspected adulteration:

• Water Test: In a clear glass, combine a tiny amount of water and milk in an equal ratio. A constant combination made of only pure milk should be formed. The water may settle at the bottom of various layers of tainted milk.
• Test with a Lactometer: A lactometer is a cheap tool used to gauge the density of milk. Place the lactometer gently into a thin glass container or cylinder filled with milk. The lactometer ought should float close to the surface of pure milk. Adulteration may be present if anything sinks or floats extremely high.
• Test for boiling: Bring some milk to a boil. Due to the presence of fats, pure milk will boil and develop a creamy layer on top. This layer might not form in adulterated milk, or it might, and a powdery residue might result.
• Iodine test: Combine a little amount of milk with a few drops of tincture iodine. When milk turns blue, starch, an adulterant, is likely present, according to this.
• Addition of Vinegar or Lemon Juice: Mix a little amount of milk with a few drops of vinegar or lemon juice. It is probably pure milk if it curdles right away. Milk that has been adulterated could not curdle or might curdle slowly.
• Taste and Smell: Inauthentic milk may have an unpleasant odor or an odd flavor. Pure milk ought to taste like milk and have a gentle, pleasant scent.

2. Oil and Fats

• Physical Appearance: Check the cooking oil's texture and color. Pure oils ought to be transparent and have a constant color. Any cloudiness, silt, or out-of-the-ordinary color could be signs of adulteration.
• Aroma and Taste: The aroma and flavor of pure cooking oils are either neutral or distinctive. Oil may be adulterated if it smells rotten, off, or has a strange odor. A tiny amount can be tasted to assist identify any odd or off flavors.
• Heat Test : Test the oil's ability to heat by heating a small amount in a pan. The temperature at which pure oils should begin to smoke varies depending on the type of oil (e.g., olive oil, vegetable oil). If the oil smokes at a lower temperature than you would expect, it might be tampered with to use less expensive fats or oils.
• Freeze oil : Place a sample of the oil in the freezer for the freezing test. The freezing points of different oils vary. It may contain adulterants if the oil solidifies at a greater temperature than anticipated or doesn't solidify at all.
• Water Test: In a transparent container, combine a small amount of the oil with some water. Pure oils should create discrete layers rather than blending with water. Specifically, tainted oils have a greater water content.

3. Sweets and Confectionery: Sweets and confectionery are a staple during Diwali celebrations. Adulteration may involve using substandard or low-quality ingredients, such as inferior ghee, milk, and sugar. Additionally, artificial colors and flavors may be used to enhance the appearance and taste of the sweets.

You can test easily if food adulterated.

• Test for Starch:Add a few drops of iodine to a little amount of the sweets. If it becomes blue, starch, which can be used as an adulterant, may be present.
• Consistency and Texture:The texture of well produced confections should be consistent. Products that have been adulterated could have additives or fillers that give them an inconsistent consistency.
• Water and Oil Test:Ghee or oil-based sweets shouldn't dissolve easily in water. If they do, it can be a sign that fillers like fats and oils were used excessively.
• Microscopic Analysis: If at all possible, examine the sweet's structure under a microscope for any extraneous materials, impurities, or abnormalities.

4. Nuts and Dry Fruits

In response to growing consumer demand and the pursuit of greater profitability, vendors turn to adulterating dried fruits and nuts by adding various chemicals to these items.For instance, they use illegal materials like malachite-green to replicate the look of pistachio nuts. Additionally, to prevent discolouration and decomposition, sodium metabisulphite and sulphur dioxide are added to dry fruits, and preservatives are used to increase the shelf life of packed dry fruits and nuts.

• Float Test: Put the dried fruits or nuts in a bowl of water. Pure things shouldn't float because they have less moisture in them. Floating could be a sign of adulteration or greater moisture content.
• Labeling and packaging: Check the packing for alterations or damage.Verify the ingredient lists, nutrition facts, and certifications on the labels.
• Test for Fatty Residues: A few nuts or dried fruits should be rubbed between your fingers. Products that have been tampered with sometimes leave an overly greasy residue.

Conclusion

Diwali is a time for celebration and sharing joy. However, it's imperative to guarantee that the food we eat and share is pure and safe. We may celebrate Diwali with assurance, knowing that our celebrations are not hampered by food adulteration, by remaining aware, adhering to the detection and preventive techniques described in this article, and supporting honest food suppliers.