Food Adulterants in India and their Health
Hazards
Surjit Singh
• Food is one of the essentials to sustain life. Access to pure,
nutritious food, free from any type of adulteration is the
genuine expectation of every citizen.
• One works hard and earns to satisfy the hunger. But at the end
of the day, many of us are not sure of quality of food we are
eating.
• We may be eating a dangerous dye, sawdust, soap stone,
industrial starch aluminum foil and so on!
• Though food laws that exist are comparable to international
ones, there is very little activity at the ground level to monitor
or detect adulterated foods
The food industry has grown tremendously in the past two
decades, but food regulation has hardly kept pace. The
Prevention of Food Adulteration Act has been replaced with
a broad-based food safety law and a body called the Food
Safety and Standards Authority of India. But the change
has made no difference at the ground level.
Instead of tackling adulteration and the issue of food safety, the
authority appears preoccupied with issues connected with the
packaged food industry.
• Food adulteration in India seems to be getting deadlier by the
day. First we had some unscrupulous dairy farmers in western
Uttar Pradesh inventing synthetic milk.
• Then we had reports of fruits, particularly mangoes, being
ripened with calcium carbide and now, there are reports of fish
being made to appear fresh with formalin.
• In 2012, a study in India conducted by the Food
Safety Standards Authority of India (FSSAI)
across 33 states found that milk in India is
adulterated with detergent, fat and even urea, as
well diluted with water. Of the1791 random
samples from 33 states, just 31.5% of the samples
tested (565) conformed to the FSSAI standards
while the rest 1226 (68.4%) failed the test.
•
Ref: V. Lakshmi et al., IJSIT (www.ijsit.com), Volume 1, Issue 2, November-December 2012
Food Article
Adulterant
Harmful Effects
Bengal Gram dal Thoor
Dal
Kesari dal
Lathyrism, cancer
Tea
Used tea leaves
processed and coloured
Liver Disorder
Coffee Powder
Tamarind seed, date seed
powder
Diarrhoea
Chicory powder
Stomach disorder,
Giddiness and joint pain
formaldehyde
carcingenic
Fish
Milk
Unhygenic water &
Starch
Stomach disorder
Khoa
Starch & Less Fat content
Less - nutritive value
Wheat and other food
grains (Bajra)
Ergot (a fungus
containing poisonous
substance)
Poisonous
Sand, marble chips, stones,
filth
Damage to digestive tract
Sugar
Chalk powder
Stomach - Disorder
Black pepper
Papaya Seeds and light
berrys
Stomach, liver problems
Mustard powder
Argemone seeds
epidemic dropsy
Edible oils
Argemone oil
Epidemic dropsy, Loss of
eyesight, heart diseases,
tumour
Mineral oil
Damage to
liver,carcinogenic effects
Karanja oil
Heart problems, liver
damage
Castor oil
Stomach problem
TCP
Paralysis
Rancid oil
Destroys vitamin A and E
Asafoetida
Foreign resins galbanum,
colophony resin
dysentery
Turmeric powder
Yellow aniline dyes
Carcinogenic
Non-permitted colourants
like metanil yellow
Highly Carcinogenic
Tapioca starch
Stomach disorder
Brick powder, saw dust
Stomach problems
Artificial Colors
Cancer
Fruit juices, soft drinks, etc. in
contact with cadmium plated
vessels or equipment. Cadmium
contaminated water and shellfish
Cadmium
‘Itai-itai (ouch-ouch)
disease, Increased
salivation, acute gastritis,
liver and kidney damage,
prostrate cancer
Water, Liquors
Cobalt
Cardiac insufficiency and
mycocardial failure
Chilli powder
Sweets, Juices, Jam
Non-permitted coaltar dye, carcinogenic
Metanil Yellow
Jaggery
Washing soda,
chalkpowder
vomiting, diarrhoea
Lead chromate
Turmeric whole and
powdered, mixed spices
Anemia, abortion,
paralysis, brain damage
Alcoholic liquors
Methanol,
Blurred vision, blindness,
death
Fruits such as apples
sprayed over with lead
arsenate
Arsenic
Dizziness, chills, cramps,
paralysis, death
Foods contaminated by rat
poisons
(Barium carbonate)
Barium
Violent peristalisis, arterial
hypertension, muscular
twitching, convulsions,
cardiac disturbances
Bacterial contamination
Bacillus cereus
Cereal products, custards, puddings, sauces
Salmonella spp.
Meat and meat products, raw vegetables,
salads, shell-fish, eggs and egg products,
warmed-up leftovers
Shigella sonnei
Milk, potato, beans, poultry, tuna, shrimp,
moist mixed foods
Staphylococcus aureus
Entero-toxins-A,B,C,D or E
Dairy products, baked foods especially custard
or cream-filled foods, meat and meat products,
low-acid frozen foods, salads, cream sauces,
etc.
Clostridium botulinus toxins
A,B,E or F
Defectively canned low or medium-acid foods;
meats, sausages, smoked vacuum-packed fish,
fermented food etc.
Clostridium.perfringens
type A
Milk improperly processed or canned meats,
fish and gravy stocks
Virus
Hepatitis (virus A)
Parasites
Ascaris
lumbricoides
Entamoeba
histolytica Viral
Any raw food or water Ascariasis
contaminated by human
faces containing eggs of
the parasite
Raw vegetables and
fruits
Amoebic dysentery
Milk Adulteration
Possible diseases due to Adulteration in Milk Agriculture For Nutrition and Health
presentation
Kesari Dal
• Whole Kesari dal is often mixed in whole pulses like black masoor,
black Bengal gram and split pulses such as arhar and chana dal are
adulterated with split kesari dal. Besan is often sold with an
adulteration of kesari dal powder.
• Health hazards:
• Excessive consumption of kesari dal produces Lathyrism (form of
crippling, paralysis of both lower limbs) mainly in boys and men in the
age group of 5 to 45 years. This disease manifests itself in 2-4 months if
the diet consists of 40% or more of kesari dal.
• • The disease starts with the stiffness of knee joints and legs, with pain
around the knee and ankle joints.
• • Within 10-30 days of the onset of symptoms, paralysis of the lower
limbs sets in.
• • The patient gradually becomes crippled as his knees are bent and stiff.
Argemone seeds/Oil
• Argemone seeds are obtained from Argemone Mexican-the
yellow flowered poppy plant. Its seeds resemble mustard seeds
in appearance. These seeds are mixed with mustard seeds
during extraction of mustard oil.
• Health hazards:
1.
Argemone oil is very toxic. Regular consumption of it may
cause disease called epidemic dropsy, resembling wet
beriberiin which is marked by edema. It usually starts with
gastro-intestinal disturbance, irregular fever with rashes on
exposed parts of the body. Liver is enlarged and if not
stopped in time may prove fatal
2.
Eyesight is lost because of glaucoma.
Mustard oil (Brassica nigra) which is derived from mustard seeds
is commonly used as a cooking medium inmany parts of India.
While harvesting, the mustard seeds become contaminated
with the wild seeds of Argemone mexicana (Mexican prickly
poppy) that commonly grows alongside mustard plantations.
The main alkaloid of Argemone oil is toxic, and belongs to the
class of benzophenanthridine group, namely sanguinarine
anddihydro-sanguinarine. Its ingestion causes a progressive
leg edema, also known as epidemic dropsy.
The first record of epidemic dropsy was in Calcutta in1877. Since
then, numerous outbreaks have been recognized and reported
all over India.
Edema (%)
Leg
100
100
100
100
100
General
20
26
-
-
27
Erythema(%)
35
80
82
100
Tenderness
22
70
75
88
100
CHF (%)
2
6
14
29
27
Diarrhoea
(%)
73
36
51
82
54
Anemia (%)
100
46
-
88
46
-
-
-
46
Gomber et
al.;
1992 (Delhi,
n= 30)
Singh NP
et al.;
1998
(Delhi,
n=212)
Singh R et
al.;
1999 (Nepal,
n=26)
Current
study; 20042011
(Punjab and
Haryana,
n=11)
Pancytopenia (%)
Tandon et al.;
1975 (45)
Autopsy and microscopic examination of one patient revealed
that all the cardiac chambers were dilated without any mural
thrombi and the myocardial fibrils were in disarray with
interstitial edema Cardiac myocytes displayed anisonucleosis,
and there was patchy perivascular and interstitial fibrosis.
Gross examination of the liver, lungs and spleen showed
congestion. On microscopic evaluation, alveolar edema was
observed in the lungs, in addition to a focal steatosis and
extramedullary hemopoiesis in the liver and features of acute
tubular necrosis in the kidneys.
Withdrawal of the offending agent - the contaminated mustard oil
is the cornerstone of management, A direct correlation between
the amount of Argemone oil consumed and the severity of
symptoms may account for the varying severity.
Symptomatic treatment is provided which includes bed rest,
oxygen supplementation, diuretics and fluid restriction. In
addition, oral folic acid supplements for patients with
hemolytic anemia.
Metanil Yellow
3-(4-Anilinophenylazo)benzenesulfonic acid sodium salt
Metanil yellow is a prohibited substance for the human
consumption. Apart from other mineral colours, it is frequently
used in coloring pulses, spices and condiments, sweets like
Jalebi, ladddoo, Karachi halwa and bottled soft drinks.
Health hazards:
Cancer.
Abnormalities in skin, eyes, lungs, and bones.
Degeneration of reproductive organs-ovaries, testes leading to
sterility.
Abnormalities in foetus.
Mental retardation.
Anemia.
Accumulation of lead in body and blood.
Food Chem Toxicol. 1993 Jan;31(1):41-4.
Effects of chronic consumption of metanil yellow by developing and adult rats on brain
regional levels of noradrenaline, dopamine and serotonin, on acetylcholine esterase
activity and on operant conditioning.
Nagaraja TN1, Desiraju T.
Abstract
Metanil yellow is the principal non-permitted food colour used extensively in India. The
effects of long-term consumption of metanil yellow on the developing and adult brain
were studied using Wistar rats. Regional levels of noradrenaline, dopamine and
serotonin, activity of acetylcholine esterase (AChE), and operant conditioning with food
reward were assessed in rats fed, metanil yellow and in controls. In the treated rats the
amine levels in the hypothalamus, striatum and brain stem were significantly affected,
and the changes were not generally reversible even after withdrawal of metanil yellow in
developing rats. The striatum showed an early reduction of AChE activity, whereas the
hippocampus showed a delayed but persistent effect of reduced AChE activity. Treated
rats also took more sessions to learn the operant conditioning behaviour. These effects
on these major neurotransmitter systems and on learning, indicate that chronic
consumption of metanil yellow can predispose both the developing and the adult central
nervous system (CNS) of the rat to neurotoxicity
Mineral oils
• Mineral oils like kerosene oil are being added to edible oils
and fat soluble vitamins A and D are destroyed by even a little
consumption of these oils. Excessive may lead to vomiting and
intestinal haemorrhages.
• A coating of mineral oil is used on some food products to
prevent fungus growth Certain oils may cause cancer.
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