CHEMISTRY
INVESTIGATORY
PROJECT:
TOPIC:
STUDY OF COMMON FOOD ADULTERANTS IN FAT,
OIL, BUTTER, SUGAR, TUMERIC POWDER, CHILLI
POWDER AND PEPPER
TABLE OF CONTENTS
01 02
INTRODUCTION HEALTH RISKS
Major health issues due to
About food
consumption of adulterated
adulteration. food items.
03 04
EXPERIMENTS CONCLUSION
3 experiments to test Observation table and
for food adulteration. conclusion.
INTRODUCTION
Food adulteration refers to the practice of adding inferior or
harmful substances to food products, compromising their
quality and safety. Unfortunately, India faces significant
challenges related to food adulteration. Unscrupulous
traders often mix substandard ingredients, chemicals, or
contaminants into food items, endangering public health.
Commonly adulterated foods include spices, oils, milk, grains,
and condiments. For instance, milk may be diluted with water,
and edible oils might contain cheaper alternatives. Spices can be
laced with artificial colors or impurities. These practices not only
deceive consumers but also pose serious health risks.
Efforts to combat food adulteration involve stricter regulations,
quality testing, and consumer awareness campaigns. However,
vigilance remains crucial to safeguarding our food supply and
ensuring the well-being of all citizens .
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. These adulterants can be easily identified by
simple chemical tests.
Some of the common chemical tests used to detect these
adulterations are discussed in the upcoming slides.
HEALTH RISKS
Consuming adulterated food exposes individuals to various health
risks. The presence of harmful chemicals and contaminants can
lead to acute poisoning, allergic reactions, and long-term health
issues. For instance:
● Food Poisoning: Adulterants like lead, pesticides, or artificial
colors can cause food poisoning.
● Cancer: Consuming fruits adulterated with ripening agents
may increase the risk of cancer.
● Nutritional Deficiencies: Adulteration can reduce essential
nutrients in food.
● Increased Disease Risk: Contaminants may weaken the
immune system, making individuals more susceptible to
diseases.
● Allergic Reactions: Artificial additives can trigger allergies in
sensitive individuals.
● Respiratory Issues: Some adulterants may harm internal
organs, including the heart, kidneys, and liver
EXPERIMENT
0
1
To detect the presence of
adulterants in fat, oil and butter.
AIM: To detect the presence of adulterants in fat, oil
& butter
Requirements:
● Test tube
● Conc. H2SO4
● Acetic anhydride
● Acetic acid
● Conc. HNO3
Procedure:
Common adulterants used in ghee
& oil are paraffin wax, hydrocarbons, dyes
and argemone oil. These are detected as
follows:
● Adulteration of paraffin wax & hydrocarbon in vegetable ghee-
Heat small amount of vegetable ghee with acetic anhydride.
Droplets of oil floating on the surface of unused acetic anhydride
indicates the presence of wax or hydrocarbons.
● 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 the
presence of dye in fat.
● Adulteration of argemone oil in edible oils-
To small amount of oil in a test tube, add few drops of conc. HNO 3
and shake. Appearance of red colour in the acid layer indicates
presence of argemone oil.
EXPERIMENT
0
2
To detect the presence
of adulterants in sugar.
AIM: To detect the presence of adulterants in sugar
Requirements:
● Test tubes
● Dil. HCl
Procedure:
Sugar is usually contaminated with
washing soda and other insoluble
substances which are detected as follows:
● 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.
● Adulteration of chalk powder, washing soda in sugar-
To small amount of sugar in a test tube, add few drops of
dil. HCl. Brisk effervescence of CO2 shows the presence of
chalk powder or washing soda in the given sample of sugar.
EXPERIMENT
0
3
To detect the presence of adulterants in sample of
chilli powder, tumeric powder and pepper
AIM:To detect the presence of adulterants in samples
of chilli powder, tumeric powder and pepper
Requirements:
● Test tubes
● Conc. HCl
● Dil. HNO3
● KI solution
Procedure:
Common adulterants present in chilli,
turmeric powder and pepper are red
coloured lead salts, yellow lead salts and
dried papaya seeds resp. They are
detected as follows:
● Adulteration of red lead salts in chilli powder-
To a sample of chilli powder, add dil. HNO3. filter the solution and
add 2 drops of KI 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 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.
OBSERVATION TABLE
Experiment Procedure Observation
Heat small amount of
vegetable ghee with acetic
Adulteration of paraffin anhydride. Droplets of oil
Appearance of oil floating
wax and hydrocarbon floating on the surface of
unused acetic anhydride on the surface.
in vegetable ghee
indicate the presence of wax
or hydrocarbon.
Heat 1mL of fat with a
Adulteration of dyes in mixture of 1mL of conc.
Appearance of pink colour.
fat H2SO4 and 4mL of acetic
acid.
Adulteration of To small amount of oil in a
argemone oil in edible test tube, add few drops of No red colour observed.
oils conc. HNO3 & shake.
OBSERVATION TABLE
Experiment Procedure Observation
Adulteration of various Take small amount of Pure sugar dissolves
insoluble substances in sugar in a test tube and inwater butinsoluble
sugar shake it with little water. impurities do notdissolve.
Adulteration of yellow
To sample of turmeric Appearance of magenta
lead salts to turmeric
powder, add conc. HCl. colour.
powder
To a sample of chilli
Adulteration of red powder add dil. HNO3.
lead salts in chilli Filter the solution and add No yellow ppt.
powder 2 drops of KI solution to
the filtrate.
OBSERVATION TABLE
Experiment Procedure Observation
Add small amount of given Brick powder settles at the
Adulteration of brick
red chilli powder in a beaker bottom while pure chilli
powder in chilli powder containing water. powder floats over water.
Add small amount of sample
Dried papaya seeds being
Adulteration of dried of pepper to beaker
lighter float over water
papaya seeds in Pepper containing water and stir
with a glass rod. while pure pepper settles.
CONCLUSION
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 shop.
THANK YOU!
Power point presentation
created and submitted by-
SNEHA JAIN
Class- 12th B
Roll no.- 24
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