Food Adulteration And Its Household Methods For Detection

The replacement of substance or material for another, such that a manufactured product is incorrectly labelled and/or dosage information is not in accordance with US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) requirements generally termed as adulteration or the alteration of any substance by the intentional addition of a component not originally part of that substance; usually used to imply that the substance is debased as a result.

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The addition of adulterant may be intentional or accidental. But generally the adulterant addition is intentional. The major reason for the intentional addition of these adulterants is for increasing the profit margin on the expense of the health of the public or consumer. There is no doubt to the fact that adulteration is not good for health. It poses a number of health hazards which include health diseases, weaken the immune system and lots more. There are many mineral oils which when added to the food items can result in paralysis, cancer etc. If pregnant women eat such food items it might lead to abortion or even damage the brain of the baby. Sometimes zinc substances result in vomiting or in severe cases it can result in diarrhea. Food colours that are added to the items can be the reason of liver damage, allergies and lots more. Thus you can say that adulteration can bring down your health and affect the quality of life. There are various method for detection of adulteration in food. House hold method for testing the food samples are given below:

Detection of Water in Milk

Put a drop of milk on a polished slanting surface.

Milk adulteration without water either stays or flows slowly leaving a white trail behind.

Milk adulterated with water will flow immediately without leaving a mark.