What is Food Adulteration?

Food Adulteration: Adulteration constitutes a legal violation, occurring when food fails to meet government-mandated standards. It involves the intentional or unintentional addition of substances that compromise food quality. In essence, food adulteration is the contamination of food or food materials by incorporating harmful substances.

There are four main types of food adulteration:

1. Deliberate Adulteration: This involves adding substances resembling food constituents to increase weight and profit, such as mixing in pebbles, stones, sand, or chalk powder.

2. Accidental Adulteration: Negligence during food handling leads to accidental adulteration, like pesticide residues in grains or the presence of rodent droppings.

3. Metallic Adulteration: Adding metallic substances like lead or mercury to food, either intentionally or accidentally, constitutes metallic adulteration.

4. Packaging Contamination: The materials used for packaging can contaminate food, causing packaging hazards by mixing with the food constituents.

Here are some methods to prevent food adulteration:

- At the industry level, strict laws and government oversight are essential to curb food adulteration.

- Avoid purchasing deep or dark-colored groceries to minimize the risk of adulteration.

- Reduce consumption of processed foods.

- Thoroughly wash or soak fruits and vegetables before consumption.

- Inspect canned or tinned foods for any signs of leakage or bulging before purchasing.

- In Indian markets, look for the FSSAI (Food Safety and Standards Authority of India) license number, ingredient lists, and expiration dates on food packaging to ensure safety and authenticity.