Common Adulterants and screening tests

S.No	Adulterant	Foods Commonly Involved	Diseases or Health Effects
	Adulterants in food
1	Argemone seeds Argemone oil	Mustard seeds Edible oils and fats	Epidemic dropsy, Glaucoma, Cardiac arrest
2	Artificially coloured foreign seeds	As a substitute for cumin seed, Poppy seed, black pepper	Injurious to health
3	Foreign leaves or exhausted tea leaves, saw dust artificially coloured	Tea	Injurious to health, cancer
4	TCP	Oils	Paralysis
5	Rancid oil	Oils	Destroys vitamin A and E
6	Sand, marble chips, stones, filth	Food grains, pulses etc.	Damage digestive tract
7	Lathyrus sativus	Khesari dal alone or Mixed in other pulses	Lathyrism (crippling spastic paraplegia)
	Chemical Contamination
8	Mineral oil (white oil, petroleum fractions)	Edible oils and fats, Black pepper	Cancer
9	Lead  chromate	Turmeric whole and powdered, mixed spices	Anemia, abortion, paralysis, brain damage
10	Methanol	Alcoholic liquors	Blurred vision, blindness, death
11	Arsenic	Fruits such as apples sprayed over with lead arsenate	Dizziness, chills, cramps, paralysis, death
12	Barium	Foods contaminated by rat poisons (Barium  carbonate)	Violent peristalisis, arterial hypertension, muscular twitching, convulsions, cardiac disturbances
13	Cadmium	Fruit juices, soft drinks, etc. in contact with cadmium plated vessels or equipment. Cadmium contaminated water and shell-fish	‘Itai-itai (ouch-ouch) disease,  Increased salivation, acute gastritis, liver and kidney damage, prostrate cancer
14	Cobalt	Water, liquors	Cardiac insufficiency and mycocardial failure
15	Lead	Water, natural and processed food	Lead poisoning (foot-drop, insomnia, anemia, constipation, mental retardation, brain damage)
16	Copper	Food	Vomiting, diarrhoea
17	Tin	Food	Colic, vomiting
18	Zinc	Food	Colic, vomiting
19	Mercury	Mercury fungicide treated seed grains or mercury contaminated fish	Brain damage, paralysis, death
NOTE : Safe limits have been prescribed for above metals in different food. Continuous use of food contaminated with these metals beyond safe limits may cause these diseases
	Bacterial contamination
20	Bacillus cereus	Cereal products, custards, puddings, sauces	Food infection (nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhoea)
21	Salmonella spp.	Meat and meat products, raw vegetables, salads, shell-fish, eggs and egg products, warmed-up leftovers	Salmonellosis (food infection usually with fever and chills)
22	Shigella sonnei	Milk, potato, beans, poultry, tuna, shrimp, moist mixed foods	Shigellosis (bacillary dysentery)
23	Staphylococcus aureus Entero-toxins-A,B,C,D or E	Dairy products, baked foods especially custard or cream-filled foods, meat and meat products, low-acid frozen foods, salads, cream sauces, etc.	Increased salivation, vomiting, abdominal cramp, diarrhoea, severe thirst, cold sweats, prostration
24	Clostridium botulinus toxins A,B,E or F	Defectively canned low or medium-acid foods; meats, sausages, smoked vacuum-packed fish, fermented food etc.	Botulism (double vision, muscular paralysis, death due to respiratory failure)
25	Clostridium.perfringens (Welchii) type A	Milk improperly processed or canned meats, fish and gravy stocks	Nausea, abdominal pains, diarrhoea, gas formation
26	Diethyl stilbestrol (additive in animal feed)	Meat	Sterlites, fibroid tumors etc.
27	3,4 Benzopyrene	Skoked food	Cancer
28	Excessive solvent residue	Solvent extracted oil, oil cake etc.	Carcinogenic effect
29	Non-food grade or contaminated packing material	Food	Blood clot, angiosarcoma, cancer etc.
30	Non-permitted colour or permitted food colour beyond safe limit	Coloured food	Mental retardation, cancer and other toxic effect.
31	BHA and BHT beyond safe limit	Oils and fats	Allergy, liver damage, increase in serum chloresterol etc.
32	Monosodium glutamate(flour) (beyond safe limit)	Chinese food, meat and meat products	Brain damage, mental retardation in infants
33	Coumarin and dihydro coumarin	Flavoured food	Blood anticoagulant
34	Food flavours beyond safe limit	Flavoured food	Chances of liver cancer
35	Brominated vegetable oils	Cold drinks	Anemia, enlargement of heart
36	Sulphur dioxide and sulphite beyond safe limit	In variety of food as preservative	Acute irritation of the gastro-intestinal tracts etc.
37	Artificial sweetners beyond safe limit	Sweet foods	Chances of cancer
	Fungal contamination
38	Aflatoxins	Aspergillus flavus-contaminated foods such as groundnuts, cottonseed, etc.	Liver damage and cancer
39	Ergot alkaloids from Claviceps purpurea Toxic alkaloids, ergotamine, ergotoxin and ergometrine groups	Ergot-infested bajra, rye meal or bread	Ergotism (St.Anthony’s fire-burning sensation in extremities, itching of skin, peripheral gangrene)
40	Toxins from Fusarium sporotrichioides	Grains (millet, wheat, oats, rye,etc)	Alimentary toxic aleukia(ATA) (epidemic panmyelotoxicosis)
41	Toxins from Fusarium sporotrichiella	Moist grains	Urov disease (Kaschin-Beck disease)
42	Toxins from Penicillium inslandicum Penicillium atricum, Penicillium citreovirede, Fusarium, Rhizopus, Aspergillus	Yellow rice	Toxic mouldy rice disease
43	Sterigmatocystin from Aspergillus versicolour Aspergillus nidulans and bipolaris	Foodgrains	Hepatitis
44	Ascaris lumbricoides	Any  raw food or water contaminated by human faces containing eggs of the parasite	Ascariasis
45	Entamoeba histolytica Viral	Raw vegetables and fruits	Amoebic dysentery
46	Virus of infectious Hepatitis (virus A)	Shell-fish, milk, unheated foods contaminated with faeces, urine and blood of infected human	Infectious hepatitis
47	Machupo virus	Foods contaminated with rodents urine, such as cereals	Bolivian haemorrhagic fever
	Natural Contamination
48	Flouride	Drinking water, sea foods, tea, etc.	Excess fluoride causes fluorosis (mottling of teeth, skeletal  and neurological disorders)
49	Oxalic acid	Spinach, amaranth, etc.	Renal calculi, cramps, failure of blood to clot
50	Gossypol	Cottonseed flour and cake	Cancer
51	Cyanogenetic compounds	Bitter almonds, apple seeds, cassava, some beans etc.	Gastro-intestinal disturbances
52	Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons(PAH)	Smoked fish, meat, mineral oil-contaminated water, oils, fats and fish, especially shell-fish	Cancer
53	Phalloidine (Alkaloid)	Toxic mushrooms	Mushroom poisoning (Hypoglycemia, convulsions, profuse watery stools, severe necrosis of liver leading to hepatic failure and death)
54	Solanine	Potatoes	Solanine poisoning (vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhoea)
55	Nitrates and Nitrites	Drinking water, spinach rhubarb, asparagus, etc. and meat products	Methaemoglobinaemia especially in infants, cancer and tumours in the liver, kidney, trachea oesophagus and lungs. The liver is the initial site but afterwards tumours appear in other organs.
56	Asbestos (may be present  in talc, Kaolin, etc. and in processed foods)	Polished rice, pulses, processed foods containing anti-caking agents, etc.	Absorption in particulate form by the body may produce cancer
57	Pesticide residues (beyond safe limit)	All types of food	Acute or chronic poisoning with damage to nerves and vital organs like liver, kidney, etc.
58	Antibiotics (beyond safe limit)	Meats from antibiotic-fed animals	Multiple drug resistance hardening of arteries, heart disease

Simple Screening test for Detecting Adulteration in Common Food

S.No	Food article	Adulteration	Test
1	Vegetable oil	Castor oil	Take 1 ml. of oil in a clean dry test tube. Add 10 ml. Of acidified petroleum ether. Shake vigorously for 2 minutes. Add 1 drop of Ammonium Molybdate reagent. The formation of turbidity indicates presence of Castor oil in the sample.
		Argemone oil	Add 5 ml, conc. HNO3 ­­to 5 ml.sample. Shake carefully. Allow to separate yellow, orange yellow, crimson colour in the lower acid layer indicates adulteration.
2	Ghee	Mashed Potato Sweet Potato, etc.	Boil 5 ml. Of the sample in a test tube. Cool and a drop of iodine solution. Blue colour indicates presence of Starch.  colour disappears on boiling &  reappears on cooling.
		Vanaspati	Take 5 ml. Of the sample in a test tube. Add 5 ml. Of Hydrochloric acid and 0.4 ml of 2% furfural solution or sugar crystals. Insert the glass stopper and shake for 2 minutes. Development of a pink or red colour indicates presence of Vanaspati in Ghee.
		Rancid stuff (old ghee)	Take one teaspoon of melted sample and 5 ml. Of HCl in a stoppered glass tube. Shake vigorously for 30 seconds. Add 5 ml. Of 0.1% of ether solution of Phloroglucinol. Restopper & shake for 30 seconds and allow to stand for 10 minutes. A pink or red colour in the lower(acid layer) indicates rancidity.
		Synthetic Colouring Matter	Pour 2 gms. Of filtered fat dissolved in ether. Divide into 2 portions. Add 1 ml. Of HCl to one tube. Add 1 ml. Of 10% NaOH to the other tube. Shake well and allow to stand. Presence of pink colour in acidic solution or yellow colour in alkaline solution indicates added colouring matter.
3	Honey	Invert sugar/jaggery	1.      Fiehe’s Test: Add 5 ml. Of solvent ether to 5 ml. Of honey. Shake well and decant the ether layer in a petri dish. Evaporate completely by blowing the ether layer. Add 2 to 3 ml. Of resorcinol (1 gm. Of resorcinol resublimed in 5 ml. Of conc. HCl.) Appearance of cherry red colour indicates presence of sugar/jaggery.
			2.      Aniline Chloride Test : Take 5 ml. Of honey in a porcelain dish. Add Aniline Chloride solution (3 ml of  Aniline and 7 ml. Of 1:3 HCl) and stir well. Orange red colour indicates presence of sugar.
4.	Pulses/Besan	Kesari dal(Lathyrus sativus)	Add 50 ml. Of dil.HCl to a small quantity of dal and keep on simmering water for about 15 minutes. The pink colour, if developed indicates the presence of Kesari dal.
5	Pulses	Metanil Yellow(dye)	Add conc.HCl to a small quantity of dal in a little amount of water. Immediate development of pink colour indicates the presence of metanil yellow and similar colour dyes.
		Lead Chromate	Shake 5 gm. Of pulse with 5 ml. Of water and add a few drops of HCl. Pink colour indicates Lead Chromate.
6	Bajra	Ergot infested Bajra	Swollen and black Ergot infested grains will turn light in weight and will float also in water
7	Wheat flour	Excessive sand & dirt	Shake a little quantity of sample with about 10 ml. Of Carbon tetra chloride and allow to stand. Grit and sandy matter will collect at the bottom.
		Excessive bran	Sprinkle on water surface. Bran will float on the surface.
		Chalk powder	Shake sample with dil.HCl Effervescence indicates chalk.
8	Common spices like Turmeric, chilly, curry powder,etc.	Colour	Extract the sample with Petroleum ether and add 13N H2SO4 to the extract. Appearance of red colour (which persists even upon adding  little distilled water) indicates the presence of added colours. However, if the colour disappears upon adding distilled water the sample is not adulterated.
9	Black Pepper	Papaya seeds/light berries, etc.	Pour the seeds in a beaker containing Carbon tetra-chloride. Black papaya seeds float on the top while the pure black pepper seeds settle down.
10	Spices(Ground)	Powdered bran and saw dust	Sprinkle on water surface. Powdered bran and sawdust float on the surface.
11	Coriander powder	Dung powder	Soak in water. Dung will float and can be easily detected by its foul smell.
		Common salt	To 5 ml. Of sample add a few drops of silver nitrate. White precipitate indicates adulteration.
12	Chillies	Brick powder grit, sand, dirt, filth, etc.	Pour the sample in a beaker containing a mixture of chloroform and carbon tetrachloride. Brick powder and grit will settle at the bottom.
13	Badi Elaichi seeds	Choti Elaichi seeds	Separate out the seeds by physical examination. The seeds of Badi Elaichi have nearly plain surface without wrinkles or streaks while seeds of cardamom have pitted or wrinkled ends.
14	Turmeric Powder	Starch of maize, wheat, tapioca, rice	A microscopic study reveals that only pure turmeric is yellow coloured, big in size and has an angular structure. While foreign/added starches are colourless and small in size as compared to pure turmeric starch.
15	Turmeric	Lead Chromate	Ash the sample. Dissolve it in 1:7 Sulphuric acid (H2SO4) and filter. Add 1 or 2 drops of 0.1% dipenylcarbazide. A pink colour indicates presence of Lead Chromate.
		Metanil Yellow	Add few drops of conc.Hydrochloric acid (HCl) to sample. Instant appearance of violet colour, which disappears on dilution with water, indicates pure turmeric. If colour persists Metanil yellow is present.
16	Cumin seeds (Black jeera)	Grass seeds coloured with charcoal dust	Rub the cumin seeds on palms. If palms turn black adulteration in indicated.
17	Asafoetida(Heeng)	Soap stone, other earthy matter	Shake a little quantity of powdered sample with water. Soap stone or other earthy matter will settle at the bottom.
		Chalk	Shake sample with Carbon tetrachloride (CCl4). Asafoetida will settle down. Decant the top layer and add dil.HCl to the residue. Effervescence shows presence of  chalk.
18	Foodgrains	Hidden insect infestation	Take a filter paper impregnated with Ninhydrin (1% in alcohol.) Put some grains on it and then fold the filter paper and crush the grains with hammer. Spots of bluish purple colour indicate presence of hidden insects infestation

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