CHAPTER 7 :

FOOD CONTAMINANTS &

ADULTERANTS
LEARNING OUTCOME
• To be able to understand what determines contamination
• To understand what is adulteration in food
• To be able to identify between contamination and adulteration
• To be able to explain food safety and what it does
 Contaminants & Adulteration
• Contaminants & Adulteration. Bacteria,
viruses, and parasites aren't the only
harmful things that can be found in food.
This section contains information on
chemical contaminants like melamine.
You can also learn about pesticides,
natural toxins, and metals like arsenic and
mercury
 What is Adulteration? 
• Adulteration can be defined as the addition of adulterants in otherwise safe substances
such as food, beverages, fuel etc. What is commonly known as adulterants is a substance
found within another substance that is not legally or otherwise allowed to exist within
them. Adulterants however are different to permitted food additives which is not illegal or
is dangerous to do so. Some examples for adulteration would be the addition of roasted
chicory roots to coffee, water in diluting alcohol or milk, apple jellies in place of more
expensive jellies, cutting agents in illicit drugs such as shoe polish in hashish, lactose in
cocaine etc. 
• Adulterated food is considered to be unhealthy, unsafe and impure, and adulteration has
come to be a legal term that food products that fail to meet state or federal standards.
Adulteration is practiced by merchants for the sole reason of obtaining profits and, as a
result, unwholesome food that is harmful to the human system is being produced. 
 What is contamination?
• Contamination can be defined as the presence of unwanted yet
minor contaminants in a substance. This can be the physical
body, a material, environment etc. However, in different
contexts, contamination is defined differently. In food and
medicinal chemistry, contamination refers to the presence of
harmful intrusions such as pathogens or toxins. This directly
involved the deterioration of the quality of food due to
chemical, physical, biological or environmental factors. Physical
aspects include rats, insects, and other animals that can cause
hard to the food items while chemical factors would include the
presence of harmful chemicals such as lead or mercury. What
falls under environmental factors would be heat, humidity and
other factors that can directly affect the quality of food while
biological factors would include the growth of micro organisms
such as bacteria, fungi etc. 
What is the difference between Contamination
and Adulteration? 

While both are terms that refer to unfavourable conditions with regards to substances that
are used in day-to-day life, adulteration and contamination share certain differences that set
them apart. 
• Adulteration stands for the addition of certain ingredients that are not legally permitted in
them. Contamination stands for the deterioration of the quality of the substance.
• Adulteration is performed as a practice by certain merchants to obtain more profit.
Contamination is not performed as a practice.
• Adulteration is mostly man-done. Contamination can happen naturally as well as a result of
environmental factors such as heat, humidity etc. 
 INTRODUCTION TO FOOD STANDARDS
• The quality, composition, labelling,
presentation and advertising of food is
covered by legal requirements known
as Food Standards. ... The Council's
Food and Safety team carry out Food
Standards inspections to make sure
that food meets the required legal
standard.
 TYPES OF FOOD CONTAMINANTS (PESTICIDE RESIDUES, BACTERIAL
TOXINS MYCOTOXINS, SEAFOOD TOXINS, METALLIC CONTAMINANTS,
RESIDUES FROM PACKAGING MATERIAL)

• Biological contamination refers to food that's contaminated by

substances produced by living creatures – such as humans,
rodents, pests or microorganisms. This includes bacterial
contamination, viral contamination or parasite contamination
that's transferred through saliva, pest droppings, blood or faecal
matter.
 COMMON ADULTERANTS IN FOOD

• Food is adulterated to increase the

quantity and make more profit. The
technical definition of food
adulteration according to the Food
and Safety Standards Authority of
India (FSSAI) is, "The addition or
subtraction of any substance to or
from food, so that the natural
composition and quality of food
substance is affected."
MILK
• Some of the adulterants that are used in milk are water, chalk, urea, caustic soda and
skimmed milk, while Khoya is adulterated with paper, refined oil and skimmed milk
powder. 
HONEY
• Honey is often adulterated with water and table sugar to increase the bottle's quantity.
According to a study carried out by the Centre for Science and Environment, most honey
brands being sold in the country contain varying amounts of antibiotics and their
consumption over time could induce resistance to antibiotics, lead to blood-related
disorders and injury to the liver
SPICES
• Spices like turmeric powder is also adulterated with ‘metanil
yellow’. ‘Metanil yellow’ is produced with utilizing some raw
materials like ‘metanilic acid’ and ‘diphenylamine’. The
common people do not know the risk of consuming
turmeric powder mixed with ‘metanil yellow’. It is purely
carcinogenic – means it is capable of causing cancer in living
tissues. In black pepper adulterant is Papaya seeds (used to
add bulk). It’s harmful effect is that Papaya seeds can cause
serious liver problems and stomach disorders. Chilli powder
is often adulterated with a similar looking substance like
brick powder. 
COFFEE POWDER

• The coffee powder usually adulterated Tamarind seeds,

chicory powder (used to add bulk and colour).It 's harmful
effect is that it can cause diarrhoea, stomach disorders,
giddiness and severe joint pains.
 METHOD OF DETECTION (BASIC
PRINCIPLE)
• Foodborne pathogens can be
found in various foods and it
is important to detect
foodborne pathogens to
provide safe food supply and
to prevent foodborne
diseases. The conventional
methods used to detect
foodborne pathogen are time
consuming and laborious.
 DESIGN AND
LAYOUT OF FOOD
PREMISES AND
PEST CONTROL
The design, layout and construction of premises
should:
• Permit adequate cleaning
• Permit good food hygiene practices, including protection against cross
contamination
Enforcement officers have powers to :
• Enter and inspect food and premises
• Investigate and inspect food and premises
• Investigate outbreaks of food-borne disease and
possible offenses
• Remove suspect food and have it destroyed if it is
considered to be unsafe to eat
• Serve improvement and prohibition notices
• Take food businesses to court for breaking food
safety laws
The role of the health executive
All food outlets must be registered/have prior
approval with the Health Service Executive. The
health service executive is responsible for :
• Inspection of premises
• Operational hygiene
• Structural hygiene
• Personal hygiene
• Closing a food business
• Enforcement of legislation
LEGAL REQUIREMENT
It is a legal requirement in food premises to provide a hand washing
facilities
Employers must ensure that anyone who deals with food as part of
their job and anyone who’s work could affect food. Eg: cleaners,
engineers, delivery drivers etc are supervise and given the required
instruction and/or training appropriate to the work they carry out. They
should receive training prior entering food area
 First aid equipment
• It is recommended in the ‘Guide to
goo safety practices’ that
 The first aid kit usually contains the following items:
businesses have adequate and
appropriate first aid equipment,  Individually wrapped sterile, adhesive
facilities & personnel on site to dressings/plasters – brightly colored or with a metal
enable First Aid to be given strip – so they can be detected if they fall into food
 Sterile eye pad
• In a small business a person should
be appointed to take charge of the  Individually wrapped triangular bandages
first aid kit and call an ambulance if  Safety pins
required  Disposable gloves
• In large business a qualified first
aider may be required
Tutorials
• What is contaminants and adulteration?
• Explain seven food material and common adulterants
• Discuss the responsibilities of health executive
• List equipment in the first aid kit
• List 5 things that you learned from the video