Food quality control
Dr K N Prasad
Community Medicine
Approaches
☺Scientific approach
☺Administrative approach
☺Legal approach
☺Educational approach
☺Food fortification
☺Food additives
☺Food adulteration
Food Fortification
☺Food fortification is the process
whereby nutrients are added to food
( relatively in small quantities) to maintain
or improve the quality of the diet of a
group , community or population.
☺It is a public health measure to prevent or
control some nutritional disorders
Criteria for fortification
1. Vehicle must be a part of the regular daily
diet by relevant section of the population.
2. Amount of nutrient added must provide an
effective supplement for low consumers of
the vehicle
3. Not harmful to high consumers
4. Do not cause noticeable change in the
taste, smell, appearance or consistency
5. Cost should be economical
Effectiveness
☺Fluoridation of drinking water in endemic areas
to prevent dental caries
☺Iodisation of salt to prevent IDD
☺Vitamin A fortification of Vanaspathi
☺Iron to salt or Flour
☺Food enrichment: Bread etc.
Food Additives
☺Food additives are non nutritious
substances which are added intentionally
to food , generally in small quantity to
improve its appearance , flavor, texture of
storage properties.
☺This is the concept of pickling or drying
☺When it is in excess amounts to
adulteration
Food additives
☺Traditionally- Salt, Oil, Turmeric are
used
☺Modern Science- food processing
industries use more additives to
increase shelf life of food, improve
taste, texture or colour.
Classification of additives
1. Coloring agents: considered as safe for
human consumption
2. Flavoring agents: sweeteners
( Saccharin), Preservatives( Sorbic acid,
Sodium Benzoate), acidity imparting
agents ( Citric acid, Acetic acid)
3. Pose health hazards among consumers contaminants through packing,
processing steps, farming practices
( insecticides)
Regulations in India
Punishable if
☺Food containing additive which is not
permitted
☺Exceeding the concentration of additives
used in the food
☺Information on the label gives false
confidence among users
☺FAO & WHO Codex Alimentarius are its
principal organs for control
Food adulteration
• Definition: Mixing, substitution,
abstraction, concealing the quality ,
putting up decomposed food for sale,
misbranding or giving false labeling and
addition of toxicants to food, which are
having adverse effect on the health of the
consumer is called as food adulteration.
Disadvantages
☺Paying more money for a lower
quality foodstuffs
☺Some forms of adulteration are
injurious to health
☺Practices vary from one part of the
country to another , from time to
time.
Food adulterants
Extraneous matter - 5%
Insect damaged matter – 5%
Ash insoluble in HCl.
Extraneous matter – max permissible limit
Inorganic(2%) – dirt, dust, stones, lumps
of earth
Organic(3%) – foreign edible seeds,
stems, stalks, straw, leaf matters, other
food grains
Factors responsible
Ignorance – metallic yellow or
Rhodopsin B dye to color the sweets in
villages
Storing food grains in pesticides stored bags
Negligence – cooking in un tinned vessels
Storing food articles in containers without
covers
inadvertence & Deliberate fraud – cannot
be easily detected
Milk - Addition of water/removal of fat.
Skim milk - soluble starch.
Cream -foreign fats.
Ghee -Hydrogenated fat/animal fat.
Vegetable oils -Cheap/non edible oil like linseed,
mineral oils.
Wheat and rice -stones
Bengal gram dhal -Kesari dhal.
Chilli powder- Starch colored red by tar dye.
Black pepper- Dried papaya seeds
Honey -colored sugar syrup.
Prevention – PFA
☺Amended in 1954, 1964, 1976, 1986
☺Objectives:
☺Protect the consumer against any
health hazards arising out of
adulteration
☺Protect the consumer from fraudulent
trade practices
☺Ensure and enforce fair trace
practices
Functions of PFA
Ensure
☺ Manufacture or processing under strict
hygienic conditions
☺ Retention of maximum nutritive value
☺ Freedom from toxic effects
☺ Elimination of contaminants of different kinds
☺ Packaging under sanitary conditions
☺ Marketing of food with suitable labeling
requirements ( nutritive value, weight, date of
mfr, composition, instructions for use etc.)
Actions at various Levels (PFA)
Central, state and local levels
Central level- central committee for food
standards.
Setting standards for foods, co ordination ,
monitoring and surveillance of program
State level- implementation & surveillance,
training, laboratory services , analysis ,
punishments
Local level- sample collection, enforcement,
surveillance, inspection, education to public
Punishments for food
adulteration
1. Imprisonment of 6 months with a fine of
Rs 1000
2. Harm or death as a result of food adulteration
- life imprisonment with fine up to Rs 5000
Thought for the day
Creativity begins with thinking different
and progresses with acting different
and
giving unique results
Thank you
Food standards
• Infections were common among the sex
workers, with a 25.7 percent prevalence of
HIV and 22.5 percent prevalence of
bacterial STDs: chlamydia 7.3 percent;
gonorrhea 8.9 percent; and trichomonas
9.4 percent. Antibodies to herpes simplex
virus-2 were detected in 57.2 percent of
women.