CHEMISTRY

PROJECT

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 CONTENTS
1. Certificate
2. Acknowledgement
3. Introduction
4. Infections Due to Adulteration
5. Objective
6. Theory
7. Activity
 Aim
 Apparatus required
 Procedure
 Observations
 Result
 Precautions
 Conclusion
8. Bibliography
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Sarvodaya Bal Vidyalaya
Ashok Nagar, New Delhi
CODE NO.110027

This is to certify that Ravinder Singh of class XII -A.

Roll no. 01 has satisfactorily completed his chemistry
investigatory project as prescribed by the CBSE course
during the academic year 2015-2016.

DATE: Teacher Signature

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Acknowledgement
I feel proud to present my investigatory project in chemistry on the
topic “STUDY OF ADULTERANTS IN FOOD STUFFS”. This
project would not have been feasible without the proper rigorous
guidance of chemistry teacher Mr. Naresh Chand. Who guided me
throughout this project in every possible way! An investigatory
project involves various difficult lab experiments, which have to
obtain the observation and conclude the reports on a meaningful
note. Thereby, I would like to thanks Mr. Naresh Chand for guiding
me on a systematic basis and ensuring that in completed all my
research with ease. Rigorous hard work has put in this project to
ensure that it proves to be the best. I hope that it proves to be the
best. I hope that this project will prove to be a breeding ground for
the next generation of students and will guide them in every possible
way.

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 Introduction
Food is one of the basic necessities for sustenance of life. Pure, fresh and
healthy diet is most essential for the health of the people. It is no wonder
to say that community health is national wealth.
Adulteration of food-stuffs was so rampant, widespread and
persistent that nothing short of a somewhat drastic remedy in the form of
a comprehensive legislation became the need of the hour.
] To check this kind of anti-social evil a concerted and determined
onslaught was launched by the Government by introduction of the
Prevention of Food Adulteration Bill in the Parliament to herald an era
of much needed hope and relief for the consumers at large.
About the middle of the 19th century. Chemical and microscope
knowledge had reached the stage that food substances could be analyzed,
and the subject of food adulteration began to be studied from the
standpoint of the rights and welfare of the consumer.

In 1860 the first food law framed in the interest of the purchaser was
passed. That law, lacking sufficient means of enforcement, remained
largely ineffective until 1872, when administrative officials were
appointed and penalties for violation provided. In the United States the
federal Food and Drug Act of 1906 was the result of a long and stormy
campaign led by Dr. Harvey Washington Wiley.

This law defined food adulteration and the misbranding of products; it

provided regulations covering the interstate movement of food and
penalties for violations.

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The 1906 act was superseded in 1938 by the more rigorous Food, Drug,
and Cosmetic Act administered since 1940 by the Food and Drug
Administration (now within the Dept. of Health and Human Services).

The FDA is charged with enforcing truthful and informative labeling of

essential commodities, maintaining staff laboratories, and formulating
definitions and standards promoting fair dealing in the interests of the
consumer.

The 1938 act broadened the definitions of adulteration, misbranding, and

lack of informative labeling; it provided for factory inspections; and it
increased the penalties for violations. It was amended in 1958 and 1962
to define and regulate food additives and food coloring.
The federal law controls traffic from one state to another and is
supplemented by local regulations that require food handlers to be
licensed, thereby discouraging the spread of disease; it provides for the
inspection by health officers of meat and other foods, of restaurants, and
of dairies and cold storage methods. Imported goods that violate the
provisions of the act may be denied admittance to the United States and
if not removed within a given time may be destroyed.

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 INFECTIONS DUE TO
ADULTERTION
Contaminated
Foods and drinks are common sources of infection. Among the more
common infections that one can get from contaminated foods and drinks
are typhoid fever Escherichia coli infections, shigellosis or bacillary
dysentery, giardiasis, cryptosporidiosis, other salmonelloses, cholera,
rotavirus infections, also a variety of worm infestations. Many of the
infectious diseases transmitted in food and water can also be acquired
directly through the faecal-oral route.

Bacteria:
Bacteria are a common cause of food borne illness. Toxins for bacterial
infections are delayed because the bacteria need time to multiply. Their
symptoms are usually not seen until 12–72 hours or mainly the day after
it is ingested and digests completely, more after eating contaminated
food.

Enterotoxins:
In addition to disease caused by direct bacterial infection, some food
borne illnesses are caused by enterotoxins (an exotoxin targeting the
intestines).Enterotoxins can produce illness even when the microbes that
produced them have been killed. It occurs mainly in cooked and
processed foods due to competition with other biota in raw foods, and
humans are the main cause of contamination as a substantial percentage
of humans are persistent carriers of S. Aureus.

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Mycotoxins and alimentary mycotoxicoses:
The term alimentary mycotoxicoses refers to the effect
of poisoning by Mycotoxins (The term 'Mycotoxins' is usually reserved
for the toxic chemical products produced by fungi that readily colonize
crops) through food consumption. Some research has shown that the
toxins can be easily cross-contaminated between grain commodities,
suggesting that manufacturing and storage of grain commodities is a
critical practice.

Viruses:
Viral infections make up perhaps one third of cases of food poisoning in
developed countries Food borne viral infection are usually of
intermediate (1–3 days) incubation period, causing illnesses which are
self-limited in otherwise healthy individuals; they are similar to the
bacterial forms described above. Hepatitis A is distinguished from other
viral causes by its prolonged (2–6 week) incubation period and its ability
to spread beyond the stomach and intestines into the liver. It often results
in jaundice, or yellowing of the skin, but rarely leads to chronic liver
dysfunction. The virus has been found to cause infection due to the
consumption of fresh-cut produce which has faecal contamination.

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 OBJECTIVE
The Objective of this project is to study some of
the common food adulterants present in different
food stuffs.

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 Theory
The increasing number of food producers and the outstanding
amount of import foodstuffs enables the producers to mislead and
cheat consumers.
To differentiate those who take advantage of legal rules from the
ones who commit food adulteration is very difficult. The
consciousness of consumers would be crucial. Ignorance and unfair
market behavior may endanger consumer health and misleading
can lead to poisoning.
So we need simple screening tests for their detection. In the past
few decades, adulteration of food has become one of the serious
problems. Consumption of adulterated food causes serious diseases
like cancer, diarrhea, asthma, ulcers, etc. Majority of fats, oils and
butter are paraffin wax, castor oil and hydrocarbons. Red chilli
powder is mixed with brick powder and pepper is mixed with dried
papaya seeds.

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Aim: To detect the presence of adulterants in fat, oil and butter.
APPARATUS REQUIRED:
 Test-Tube
 Acetic Anhydride
 Conc. H2SO4
 Acetic Acid
 Conc. HNO3

PROCEDURE

Common adulterants present in ghee and oil are paraffin wax,

hydrocarbons, dyes andargemone oil. These are detected as follows:

(i) Adulteration of paraffin wax and hydrocarbon in vegetable ghee

Heat small amount of vegetable ghee with acetic anhydride.
Droplets of oil floating on the surface of unused acetic anhydride
indicate the presence of wax or hydrocarbons.

(ii) Adulteration of dyes in fat Heat 1mL of fat with a mixture of

1mL of conc. sulphuric acid and 4mL of acetic acid. Appearance
of pink or red colour indicates presence of dye in fat.
(iii) Adulteration of argemone oil in edible oils to small amount of oil
in a test-tube, add few drops of conc. HNO3 and shake.
Appearance of red colour in the acid layer indicates presence of
argemone oil.

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AIM: To detect the presence of adulterants in sugar.
APPARATUS REQUIRED:
 Test-tubes
 Dil. HCl.

PROCEDURE:

Sugar is usually contaminated with washing soda and other insoluble

substances which are detected as follows:

(i) Adulteration of various insoluble substances in sugar Take small

amount of sugar in a test-tube and shake it with little water.
Pure sugar dissolves in water but insoluble impurities do not
dissolve.
(ii) Adulteration of chalk powder, washing soda in sugar. To small
amount of sugar in a test-tube, add few drops of HCl. Brisk
effervescence of CO2 shows the presence of chalk powder or
washing soda in the given sample of sugar.

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AIM : To detect the presence of adulterants in samples of chilli powder,
turmeric powder and pepper.

APPARATUS REQUIRED:
 Test-tubes
 Conc. HCl
 Dil. HNO3
 KI solution.

PROCEDURE:
Common adulterants present in chilli powder, turmeric powder and pepper
are red coloured lead salts, yellow lead salts and dried papaya seeds
respectively. They are detected as follows:
(i) Adulteration of red lead salts in chilli powder to a sample of
chili powder, add dil. HNO3. Filter the dil. solution and add 2
drops of potassium iodide solution to the filtrate. Yellow ppt.
indicates the presence of lead salts in chilli powder.
Adulteration of yellow lead salts to turmeric powder To a
sample of turmeric powder add conc. HCl. Appearance of
magenta colour shows the presence of yellow oxides of lead in
turmeric powder. Adulteration of brick powder in red chilli
powder Add small amount of given red chilli powder in beaker
containing water. Brick powder settles at the bottom while
pure chilli powder floats over water. Adulteration of dried
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papaya seeds in pepper Add small amount of sample of pepper
to a beaker containing water and stir with a glass rod. Dried
papaya seeds being lighter float over water while pure pepper
settles at the bottom.

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 OBSERVATION:
EXPT. NO. EXPERIMENT PROCEDURE OBSERVATION
1. Adulteration of paraffin Heat small amount of Appearance of oil floating
wax and hydrocarbon in vegetable ghee with on the surface.
vegetable ghee. acetic anhydride.
Droplets of oil floating
on the surface of unused
acetic anhydride indicate
the presence of wax or
hydrocarbon.
2. Adulteration of dyes in fat Heat 1mL of fat with a Appearance of pink colour.
mixture of 1mL of conc.
H2SO4 and 4mL of
acetic acid.
3. Adulteration of argemone To small amount of oil No red colour observed
oil in edible oils in a test tube, add few

drops of conc. HNO3

&shake.
4. Adulteration of various Take small amount of Pure sugar dissolves in
insoluble substances in sugar in a test tube and water but insoluble
sugar shake it with little water. impurities do not dissolve.
5. Adulteration of chalk To small amount of No brisk effervescence
powder, washing soda in sugar in a test tube, add observed.
sugar a few drops of dil. HCl
6. Adulteration of yellow lead To sample of turmeric Appearance of magenta
salts to turmeric powder powder, add conc. HCl. colour
7. Adulteration of red lead To a sample of chilli No yellow precipitate.
salts in chilli powder. powder, add dil. HNO3.
Filter the solution and
add 2 drops of KI
solution to the filtrate.
8. Adulteration of brick Add small amount of Brick powder settles at the
powder in chilli powder given red chilli powder bottom while pure chilli
in a beaker containing powder floats over water.
water
9. Adulteration of dried Add small amount of Dried papaya seeds being
papaya seeds in pepper sample of pepper to lighter float over water
beaker containing water while pure pepper settles at
and stir with a glass rod. the bottom.

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 Result:
The required analysis for adulterants in food stuffs has
been made.

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 PRECUATIONS
By taking a few precautions, we can escape from consuming adulterated
products.

1. Take only packed items of well-known companies.

2. Buy items from reliable retail shops and recognized outlets.
3. Check the ISI mark or Agmark.
4. Buy products of only air tight popular brands.
5. Avoid craziness for artificially colored sweets and buy only from
reputed shops.
6. Do not buy sweets or snacks kept in open.
7. Avoid buying things from street side vendors.

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Selection of wholesome and non-adulterated food is essential for daily life
to make sure that such foods do not cause any health hazard. It is not
possible to ensure wholesome food only on visual examination when the
toxic contaminants are present in ppm level. However, visual examination
of the food before purchase makes sure to ensure absence of insects, visual
fungus, foreign matters, etc. Therefore, due care taken by the consumer at
the time of purchase of food after thoroughly examining can be of great
help. Secondly, label declaration on packed food is very important for
knowing the ingredients and nutritional value. It also helps in checking
the freshness of the food and the period of best before use. The consumer
should avoid taking food from an unhygienic place and food being
prepared under unhygienic conditions. Such types of food may cause
various diseases. Consumption of cut fruits being sold in unhygienic
conditions should be avoided. It is always better to buy certified food
from reputed shops.

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Bibliography
1. Website
 www.wikipedia.org
 www.google.com
 www.yahoo.com

2. BOOKS:

 Comprehensive Practical Manual

 NCERT Class XII

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