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 adultrants used by the shopkeepers are cheap substitutes easily available. For example, adultrants in 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 adultrants can be easily identified by simple chemical tests.
OBJECTIVE OF PROJECT The main aim of this project is to study some of the common food adultrants present in different foodstuffs.
EXPERIMENT 1 AIM: to detect the presence of adultrants in fat, oil, and butter
REQUIREMENTS: 1) test-tube 2) conc. HCL 3) Furfural 4) Acetic anhydride 5) conc. HSO 6) Acetic acid 7) conc.HNO
PROCEDURE: Common adultrants present in ghee and oil are paraffin wax. Hydrocarbons, dyes and argemone oil. These are detected below: i)
Adultration of vegetable ghee in desi ghee Take small amount of desi ghee in a test-tube and add to it 1ml of HCL and 2-3 drops of 2% alcoholic solution of furfural.
Shake the contents vigorously. Appearance of red colour in the acid layer shows that vegetable ghee has been mixed as an adultrant to desi ghee. ii)
Adultration 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 hydrocarbon. iii)
Adultration 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. iv)
Adultration of argemone oil in edible oils To small amount of oil in a test-tube, add few drops of conc.HNO and shake. Appearance of red colour in the acid layer indicates presence of argemone oil.
EXPERIMENT 2 AIM: to detect the presence of adultrants in sugar.
REQUIREMENTS: 1) test-tubes
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