Pragyan A Peer Reviewed Multidisciplinary Journal, Vol: 03, No.: 01, Jan.

2021, ISSN 2091-069X 169

Article History: Received: 08 Nov. 2020; Reveiwed: 03 Dec 2020; Accepted: 23 Dec. 2020; Published: 01 Jan. 2021

Food Adulteration and Its Impact on Health

Rodana Pantha
Lecturer, Home Science, P.K.M Campus
E-Mail: [email protected]
Abstract
Food adulteration is the addition or mixing of inferior, harmful, substandard, useless or
unnecessary substances to foods. This loses the nutritional content and quality of food
items. Adulteration poses a number of health hazards which include health diseases
and weaken the immune system. The main objectives of this study was to aware of
consumer about food adulteration and use of organic food items. Department of Food
Technology and Quality Control under Ministry of Agricultural and Cooperatives is the
major Government Institution responsible for food safety and quality management.
There is a need of public campaign to make the general public aware about the quality
of food items. We consumer should be aware of and conscious while buying food items.
This study is based on the informations taken from secondary sources. At the end
some suggestions and recommendations are given for improving the health status of
consumers.

Key words : Adulteration, Health hazard, Immune system, Quality control.

Introduction
Food is essential for sustenance of life. We all eat food and gain energy for different
metabolic activities. All living organisms need food for growth, work, repair, and
maintaining life processes. There are different types of food available today in the market,
and on a daily basis, we all depend on various food sources, including vegtables, fruits,
cereals, pulses, legumes, etc.

Adulteration is a legal term meaning that a food product fails to meet the legal standards.
One form of adulteration is an addition of another substance to a food item in order to
increase the quality of the food item in raw form or prepared form, which may result in
the loss of actual quality of food item. These substances may be either available in food
items or non-food items.

Adulteration of food is not a novel phenomenon . Historical records show its existence in
all civilizations since antiquity. The holy Vedas and Bible have references as testimony to
this fact. However, with the advancement of science and technology in food production
and manufacturing there is a trend emerging towards violating the quality of food by
resorting to adulteration; this is the burning issue which has to be dealt with by any food
control agency in the present day.
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Adulteration or contamination of natural food products is one of the major challenges in

today’s society. Despite various actions and penalties, the practice of adding adulterant
is quite common in developing countries. It consists of a large number of practices,
e.g. mixing, substitution, concealing the quality,putting up decomposed foods for sale,
misbranding or giving false label and addition of toxicants. Adulteration of food consists
of substitution of cheaper or inferior substances wholly or in the part, which affects
adversely the nature, substance or quality of the food. The practices of adulteration of
food stuffs and marketing of substandard or materials of poor quality is widely prevalent
in Nepal and India. It has been roughly estimated that 50 percent of marketed foodstuffs
available today are adulterated in one way or another. One of the causes of adulteration
is that there is wide gap between production and supply of food articles. The templation
for quick gain and easy profits amongst most merchants, slow action by the authorities
, the poor enforcement of the food laws. Almost all foods, milk, cereals, pulses, spices,
ghee, oils, and beverages are adulterated in India and Nepal.

Food adulteration is the addition or mixing of inferior, harmful, substandard, useless or

unnecessary substances to foods. This spoil the nature and quality of food items and is
considered food adulteration. Adulteration is simply the way of changing the composition
of any food item such that it loses the nutritional content . Every food item has certain
nutrients which are healthy for the body but adulteration brings down this value and
affect the quality to a large extent. This is the reason people are getting more prone to
health problems.

Adulteration poses a number of health hazards which include health diseases, weaken
the immune system and lots more.

Lead chronic health problem: Minerals oils, zinc substances which used in food items
lead to abortion and damage the brain of baby, if pregnant mother eat such food items.
Also food colours added to food items can be the reason of liver damage, allergies and
lots more.

Increases the impurity in the food: Adulterated food items increases the impurities
thus making them imperfect for the consumption. If you consume this item you are bound
to have side effects which can either be short- term or long- term one.

Lack of nutritional value: Readymade food is made using poor quality ingredents which
not only brings down the nutritional content but can have change in taste as well it kept
for a long time. So you compromise with the taste as well as your health.

Thus we can say that adulteration is definitely not good. There can be a number of
reasons of adulteration like the wrong packinging, use of insecticides or pesticides, use
of preservatives and lots more. One can do nothing about it but just take measures and
try to use quality products only for cooking. This will ensure healthy cooking and you will
be able to stay away from various kinds of health problems. So avoid ready-made food
 Pantha: Food Adulteration and Its Impact on Health 171

and always use home prepared healthy food. In earlier times, people used to prepare
different food items at home, so that it was fresh, clean and healthy. But today, everyone
is so busy that they do not have time to cook food at home and depends on instantly
made items. These have different kinds of preservatives that are used to keep them in
good condition for a long time. But these are really harmful and have an adverse effect
on our health and causes different types of health hazards.

In the early nineteenth century, many adulterants were used in foods like pepper,
essential oils, vinegar, beverages (coffee, tea, beer,and wine), butter, bread, etc. In the
western countries there is a rising concern over the safety of the food supply and many
remedial actions, both voluntary and enforce, have been taken. Food adulteration, apart
from cheating the consumers, often results in disorders of diseases.

Some foods commonly adulterated are :

Pulses are adulterated with khesari dal and other pluses with inferior quality. Khesari dal,
grayish color triangular in shape, use in adulteration of bengal gram and red gram dal.
Diet containing over 30 % of khesari dal for 2 to 6 months can cause lathyrus condition.

Some seeds, barks, leaves and other materials are dressed up to look like genuine
food stuffs for marketing as genuine products or to adulterate the pure ones. Roasted
tamarind and date seeds are ground into coffee powder, and exhaused tea leaves or
colored saw dust are mixed into fresh tea. Powdered bran and saw dust in wheat flour
and ground spices. Fats and oils are easily adulterated. Cheap edible and non-edible oils
might be added in the genuine oils. But it is difficult to detect such adulteration . Ghee
is often mix with hydrogenated oils and animals fat. Synthetic colors and flavours are
added to other fats to make them appear like ghee.

Food grain adulteration involves mixing sand or crushed stones to increase the weight of
food grains. Cereal grains and pulses are mixed with plastic beads that resemble grains
in color and size. Very often, water is also sprayed on grains to increase the weight.
Chilli powder is often mixed with brick powder, while tea leaves are often mixed with
used tea leaves. These adulteration are very harmful to the consumer organizations and
consumer seriously.

Milk adulteration are found in most of the places in many countries. Milk adulteration
involves adding water in milk and removing the beneficial fats from milk. Often soymilk,
starch, groundnut milk, and wheat flour are added to milk. This makes the milk less
nutritious and its results in milk being useless for the consmer.

Coloring matter added in the foods for example, addition of lead chromate in the
turmeric. Talc and chalk powders to adulterate wheat flour , arrowroot powder, panir and
confectionary.
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Adulteration can bring down our health and affect the quality of life. As adulteration alters
the composition of the food item , it increases the impurities thus making them imperfect
for the consumption. If we consume such impure food stuffs we are bound to have side
effects which can either be short-term or long-term one.

Types of Adulteration Seen in Nepal

Food material Common adulterants
Cereals such as wheat, rice Mud, grits, soapstone bits
Pulses Coaltar dyes, khesari dal, bengal gram with tapi-
oca flour or yellow dye
Ice-cream Non-permitted color , artificial sweetness, other
fats and
gelling agents
Curry powder starch colored brown by coal-tar dyes
Haldi (turmeric) powder Lead chromate powder
Dhania (corriander) powder Starch, cow dung or horse dung powder
Black pepper Dried seeds of papaya
Chilli powder Saw dust, brick powder
Tea Dust /leaves Black gram husk, tamarind seeds powder, saw
dust, used tea dust
Coffee powder Date husk, tamarind husk, chicory
Asafetida (hing) Sand, grit, resins, gums
Mustard seeds Seeds of prickly poppy argemone
Edible oils Mineral oils, argemone oil
Butter Starch, animal fat
Ice cream Cellulose , starch, non-permitted colors
Fresh green peas in packing Green dye
Milk Extraction of fat, addition of starch and water
Ghee Vanaspati ghee

In Nepal, there is hardly food product being sold in the market which is not aduletrated.
Take for instance, spices, turmeric, dried ginger, sugar, edible oils, like mustard oil, ghee,
milk etc. Even the food grains and pulses are adulterated with substandard varities and,
at times, even small pieces of stones.

Sometimes, certain kinds of powder of some dried ingredients is mixed in milk to make
it thicker and look like standard milk containing the required quantity of fat as it exists in
natural standard milk. We often hear the news dairy-owners using caustic soda, soapy
water, groundnut oil etc in milk which is not good for health of people. Hence, it is the
questions of nations health. If people are saved from the cheating of the adulterators
 Pantha: Food Adulteration and Its Impact on Health 173

they can lead a healthy and disease free life. Strict actions should be taken against the
recalcitrant. There should not be only heavy fines but also long rigorous imprisonments
for the adulteration. Needless to say adulteration should be like any other serious crime
and the perpetrators should not be fined late just for political or any other consideration.

Consequences of Adulteration
From the contamination it is easy to guess that adulteration can have two results that
affect the consumer. One is based on the health hazard; for example argemone oil
causing epidemic dropsy, tricresyl phosphate (TCP) resulting in paralysis and death;
pulses adultrated with khesari dal if used in long time may cause lathyrus condition . If
pregnant woman use more adulterated food in pregnancy it affect growing fetus, and
have miscarriage, pre mature birth, low-birth weight of the baby. Mother may face many
health problems. The other is on the economic matter that is paying more money for the
cheaper product.

Food Act and Food Law

Objectives of Food Legislation
 To protect consumers against hazards to their health arising from consumption of
food.
 To protect the consumers against fraudulent practices in food trade.
 To ensure fair practice between food handlers.
 To help minimize wastages or losses or to dumping of hazardous and substandard
foods.
In Nepalese context, food act and laws are discussed below.

Basic Structure of Food Act

The food act 2023 (1966) was promulgated by the late King Mahendra for the welfare of
the people with aims to protect people from health hazards and commercial frauds. Food
regulation is known as Food Regulation 2027 (1970).

Food Act 2023, has been amended severals times. The act and rules are continuously
being amended as an attempt to comply with international standards and qualitties.
Traditionally food safety related rules and regulations were basically based on inspecting
and analysing end products to ensure safety of the food. But this approach has been
increasingly replaced by total quality management i.e ‘farm to fork’ approach which
focuses all level of production, processing, transportation, and trading.

Some features of Food Act 2023 are :

 The Acts bans on production , sale, and distribution of substandard , adultrated and
hazardous food items
 It prohibits the misbranding or sales by false statement .
 It detains the suspected food food items supposed to have health hazard if used.
 There is a provision of licening for the food establishments, stores, shops etc.
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 It clearly states the liabilities of the offence committed by food manifacturer or seller.
 It has a provision of standardization of food for quality.
 Analysis of the food materials in the specified laboratory.
 HMG as plaintiff.
 Authority to deal with offences.
 Provision of appeal if not satisfied with the decision.
 Provisions to make rules.

Food Regulation 2027

It is based on the food act just to make it functional. The act is implemented after the
regulation is formulated and for the formulation of the regulation, the act gives direction
to develop the rules. In the light of food regulation, it has nine parts.
 Part one: States preliminary analysis of food
 Part two: Central food research laboratory
 Part third: Food inspector
 Part four: Analysis of food
 Part five: Standardization committee
 Part six: Packing and labelling of food
 Part seven : Prohibition and regulation of sales
 Part eight : Use of colors and preservatives
 Part nine: Condition of licensing

Responsibility of a Food Control Agency

In order to meet the set objectives of food legislation, the food control agency has
the responsibility to deal with planning, programming, monitoring, evaluation and the
overall impact of the activities. Consumers should be well aware of the objectives of the
organization and their participation is vital to strengthen these activities.

Mechanism for Food Control

 Food inspectors collect suspicious sample in duplicate from the market/ industry
 Send the sample to public analysts
 Public analysts sends the report to the food inspector
 With the recommendation of district attorney, the inspector files the case
 Chief of the District Officers decides the case in this regard
 Appeal within 35 days of the decision date could be made

Areas Coverage for the Food Control System

 The food act previously implemented in certain selected districts, but now the law
has been executed in all the districts of Nepal.
 It also has a regional offices and the quarantine laboratories in the four customs
(Kakarvitta, Birjung, Tatopani and Mahendranagar). The one and only goal to extend
the offices is to control the food quality and protect the consumer’s health.
 Pantha: Food Adulteration and Its Impact on Health 175

Government Legal Action Against Adulterated / Substandard Food Stuffs

The food and drug administration enforces the act by :
 Seizure (removal of product from market).
 Ban against an individual or company to stop from either introducing an adulterated
or mis branded food in country commerce.
 Criminal prosecution , where action is taken against an individual or company and
penalty may be a fine or jail sentence.
 Selling contaminated food can result in imprisonment for 1 to 5 years and a fine of
Rs 50,000 or both.
 The government has registered a bill in the parliament to consolidate the laws
related to food hygiene and quality so that those who produce ,process, and export
contaminated food, import, transport and sell it can be imprisoned for up to five
years.
 If you produce low quality food or sell it in bulk, you can be imprisoned for up to 3
years or fine Rs 30,000 to Rs 3,00,000 or both.
 If the food system is operated without a permit , if the prescribed conditions are not
followed ,there will be a fine of Rs 10,000 to 50,000 or imprisonment for up to one
year.

Ways of Food Safety Governance

 Producer: Follow the good agriculture practices.
 Processor: Ensure production of safe food. Upgrade facility design and official food
control system.
 Handler: Safe handling ensuring the safety and stability.
 Governments
a. Grading of foods and food products.
b. Regular examination and monitoring on HACCP in production and marketing
chain adulteration.
c. Legal action against poor grades.
 Consumer: Consumer should demand safe products, and strictly follow the direction
for storage and use.

Department of Food Technology and Quality Control under Ministry of Agriculture and
Cooperatives is the major government institution responsible for food safety and quality
management . Generally, DFTQC is (1961) responsible to regulate food in the market
and ready to eat while DoA and Dls are responsible to regulate primary production and
some processing. Department of Food Technology and Quality Control at Babarmahal
referred 81 cases of food adulteration to the district administration offices in fisal year
2006. Pasteurised milk, ghee products, milk products , mustard oil, vegetable ghee,
and tomato ketchup were adulterated in that time. In 2010, water, milk, clarified butter,
cooking oil adulterated cases were found in Nepal said senior food officer.
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International membership of Codex, alimentarius commission , World Trade Organization

, Food and Agriculture Organization, member of SAARC, World Organization for animal
health (OIE) , member of Bay of Bangal initiative for Multi-sectoral Technical and
Economic Cooperation ( BIMSTEC). National for Standards (NCS) is the government
body responsible to approve and endorse Nepalese Standard. Nepal is one of the active
members of South Asian Regional standards organization( SARSO) established in 1990
and has been involved in the formation of regional standard of foods and food processing
methods . Separate government institution called Food Standardization Board (FSB) is
present according to the provision in the Food Act 1996 which make recommendations to
the government about food standards, principles and guidelines according to international
practices and principles.

According to DFTQC 2009 , Nepal Standards related food are as follows: Milk and
milk products- 18, Fats and oils- 16 , Fruits and vegtables products- 17 , Spices and
condiments- 22, Tea, coffee, cocoa and their products- 3 , Salt- 2 , cereals pulses and
their products- 23, and processed drinking water- 2, sweeting agent- 3 , sweet and
confectionary- 3 . Total 109 products are according to Nepal Standards.

Conclusion
Food adulteration is a simply way of changing compostion of any food which loses the
nutrients content. Food adulteration in Nepal is increasing day by day. It is hard to find
a food product being sold in the market which is not adulterated. Adulteration can bring
down our health and affect the quality of life. The Government of Nepal formulated
the food act and food regulation but the adulteration is increasing day by day. So the
consumer must be aware about food adulteration and buy that foods which are organic
and have standard logo.

References
Annual report 2068- 69 Government of Nepal MoAD/ Department of Food Technology
and Quality Control (DFTQC)
Begum. R, A Text Book of Foods, Nutrition, and Dietetics, Second edition 1991, Sterling
publishers private limited
Gartoulla. Pragya, A Text Book of Environmental Health, 2010
Gorkhapatra , 2077 (Shrawan 4)
https://en.wikipedia.org/
https://thehimalayantimes.com/kathmandu/81-food-adulteration-cases-in-a-year
http://www.dftqc.gov.np/
https://www.foodandenvironment.com/2012/11/food-safety-regulation-in-nepal.html