KENDRIYA VIDHYALAYA

ONGC CHANDKHEDA

CHEMISTRY INVESTIGATORY
PROJECT
STUDY OF ADULTERANTS IN
FOOD STUFFS

SUBMITTED TO SUBMIT BY:

MR.
P.G.T. (COMP. SC)
 INDEX
 Aim
 Introduction
 Hypothesis
 Experiment -1:
1. Alliteration of various insoluble substances
in sugar
 Experiment -2:
1.Adulteration of chalk powder, washing soda
in sugar
 Experiment -3:
1.Adulteration of yellow lead salts to turmeric
powder
 Experiment -4:
1.Adulteration of dried papaya seeds in
pepper
 Result
 References
 CERTIFICATE

INTERNAL EXAMINER EXTERNAL EXAMINER

PRINCIPAL
 ACKNOWLEDGMENT

It is with pleasure that I acknowledge my sincere gratitude

to our teacher, <<Teacher Name>> who taught and
undertook the responsibility of teaching the subject
computer science. I have been greatly benefited from his
classes.
I am especially indebted to our Principal <<Principal Name>>
who has always been a source of encouragement and
support and without whose inspiration this project would
not have been a successful I would like to place on record
heartfelt thanks to him.
Finally, I would like to express my sincere appreciation for
all the other students for my batch their friendship & the
fine times that we all shared together.
 AIM

THE AIM OF THIS PROJECT IS TO STUDY SOME OF

THE COMMON FOOD ADULTERANTS PRESENT IN
DIFFERENT FOOD - STUFFS
 INTRODUCTION

Adulteration of food means substitution of the genuine

food material wholly or in part with any cheaper or inferior
substance or removal of any of its constituents, wholly or
in part, which affect adversely the nature, substance or
quantity of food.
In the past few decades, adulteration of food has become
of the most serious problems. According to the Indian
Preservation of Food Adulteration Act (PPA) 195A, any
ingredient which when present in food, if injurious to
health is called an adulterant. Consumption of adulterant
food causes serious diseases like cancer, diarrhea, asthma,
ulcers etc.
Majority of adulterants used by the shopkeepers in India
are cheap substitutes easily available. For ex, sawdust is
mixed in tea leaves or ground spices, edible oil and non-
edible oil. Seeds of Argemone mexicana are used to mix
with mustard seeds and oil extracted from seeds is used to
adulterate oils such as coconut, mustard, sesume and
groundnut. Oils and fats are also adulterated with
petroleum products which cause gastrointestinal
disorders. Red chills powder is mixed with brick powder
and pepper with dried papaya seeds. These adulterants
can be identified by simple chemical tests.
 EXPERIMENT -1

AIM: To determine the presence of argemone oil in

edible oils.

HYPOTHESIS: Argemone oil is extracted from

argemone seeds and added to mustard oil to increase
its quantity. Consumption of adulterated mustard oil
even for short duration leads to a clinical condition
known as Epidemic dropsy. In humans, argemone oil
contained in adulterated mustard oil causes oxidative
stress and death of red blood cells via
methaemoglobin formation.

APPERATUS REQUIRED: test tubes, test tube

holder, conc. HNO3 reagent bottle
PROCEDURE:
 Take small amount of oil in a test tube
 Add a few drops of conc. HNO3 to it and shake the
contents well.
 Observe appearance of colour in the layer.
 Repeat with 2 more samples.

OBSERVATION TABLE:
Sample Observation
Sample 1 Layers got separated with clear
transparent layer of conc. HNO3
No change in colour of oil layer
Sample 2 This sample was oxidized because it was
kept in open for a day. No change in
colour of the soil of the layer on addition
of conc. HNO3
Sample 3 No change in colour of the oil layer

RESULT: Samples are unadulterated

 EXPERIMENT -2

AIM: To determine the presence of various insoluble

substances in sugar.

HYPOTHESIS: Various insoluble substances may be

added to sugar to increase its quantity. These unkown
substances can be harmful for our health.

APPARATUS REQUIRED: Test tubes, Sugar sample

PROCEDURE:
 Take small amount of sugar in a test tube, add
distilled water.
 Shake the contents well
 Check for insoluble impurities inside the test tube.
OBSERVATION TABLE:
Sample Observation
Sample 1 After nearly 2 min of shaking, no
insoluble impurities could be seen
in the test tube.
Sample 2 No insoluble impurities could be
seen in the test tube
Sample 3 No insoluble impurities could be
seen in the test tube

RESULTS: Detectable amount of insoluble substances

has not been added to these three sample of three
different brands.
 EXPERIMENT -3

AIM: To determine the presence of chalk powder,

washing soda in sugar

HYPOTHESIS: Common adulterants added to sugar

are plastic crystals, urea, washing soda and chalk
powder. Chalk powder is added to sugar to improve
its colour and increase its weight. It can cause kidney
stones. Excess amount of urea can inc the load on
kidney and high doses can affect mental health
diversely. Washing soda is not meant to be ingested
and cause diarrhea, nausea and vomiting. Plastic can
cause cancer.

APPARATUS REQUIRED: Test tube, dil.HCl

PROCEDURE:
 Take small amount of sugar in test tube.
 Add a few drops of dil.HCl to it
 Observe for formation of brisk effervescence (of
CO2 ).

OBSERVATION TABLE:
Sample Observation
Sample 1 No effervescence could
be observed on addition
of dil.HCl to the sample.
When added to the
solution, lime water
doesn’t turn milky.
Sample 2 Lime water doesn’t turn
milky
Sample 3 Lime water doesn’t turn
milky

RESULTS: Adulteration of chalk powder or washing soda in

the three samples of sugars of different brands was absent
to an observable amount.
 EXPERIMENT -4

AIM: Adulteration of yellow lead salts to turmeric

powder

HYPOTHESIS: Tumeric use as a food colouring and

flavoring agent is essential to various wellknown
dishes , providing curry its characteristic yellow colour
and flavor, while it is also used extensively for
manufactured food products(i.e dairy products,
sauces, sweets etc). The vibrant yellow colour in
turmeric acts as a motivation for fraudsters to
adulterate turmeric with lead chromate.

APPARATUS REQUIRED: Test tube, conc.HCl

PROCEDURE:
 Take little amount of turmeric in test tube
 Add concentrated HCl to the test tube
 Observe appearance of colour in the solution
 Repeat the test with two more samples.

OBSERVATION TABLE:
Sample Observation
Sample 1 Black colouration with a greenish brown
tinge. On dilution, dark orange
colouration appeared .
Sample 2 Black colouration with a greenish brown
tinge. On dilution, dark orange
colouration appeared
Sample 3 Black colouration with a greenish brown
tinge. On dilution, dark orange
colouration appeared

RESULTS: As no violet colouration was observed, lead salt

adulteration was absent in the given samples
 EXPERIMENT -5

AIM: To determine the presence of papaya seeds in

black pepper

HYPOTHESIS: Because of its economic value, black

pepper and susceptible to food fraud. Papaya seeds
are often used as an adulterant for black pepper due
to their high availability, low cost and morphological
similarities (in both whole and powdered form).
Papaya seeds provide a healthy and natural
alternative with a similar taste.

APPARATUS REQUIRED: Beaker, Distilled water,

glass rod
PROCEDURE:
 Take a beaker and fill it up with water.
 Take a handful of pepper corns or a little amount
of pepper powder and put it in the beaker.
 Observe and note down and the seeds that float.
 Repeat the test with 2 more samples.

OBSERVATION TABLE:
Sample Observation
Sample 1 1/2 of the seeds float
Sample 2 2/3 of the seeds float
Sample 3 1/3 of the seeds float

RESULTS: Fair amount of adulteration was found in

black pepper , however it is not much harmful to
health.
 RESULT / CONCLUSION:

The samples taken were from household use, sugar

and oil being from a branched company, turmeric
powder and black pepper being loose, bought from
market. And it was found that none of these food
stuffs contain adulteration which might prove harmful
to our health, however adulteration of papaya seeds
was found in black pepper samples to a big amount.
Due to the spreading awareness among people about
adulteration, its use in branched companies and
everyday household items has decreased to an
appreciable extent, however traces of adulteration
can still be found in the market which hopefully will
be tracked on in the future.
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. Practical chemistry
2. www.google.com