Food Adulteration
Food commodities have always been vulnerable to fraudulent admixture or adulteration with cheaper inferior materials.
Such practices are revealed within countries when food materials are transported from the countryside to the urban centers.
In international trade, such practices were noted in the eighteenth century when the UK and other European nations were importing species oils oilseeds, honey, tea, coffee and such materials form their colonies.
Since wide variations in quality were suspected, the customs and excise department in England established analytical laboratories to check the purity of these commodities.
Valuable research work was carried out by these laboratories to investigate the problem of adulteration, to lay down standard specification and to devise analytical methods to detect and quantitate adulteration.
Frederick Accum, German Scientist wrote in 1820 that ‘Indeed it would be difficult to mention a single article of food which is not be met with an adulterated state and there are some substances which are scarcely ever to be procured genuine’.
He has cited common cases of adulteration which are revealing. These included black pepper with gravel, leaves, twigs, paper dust, linseed meal, pea flour, sago, rice flour; cayenne pepper with vermillion (mercury sulphide), ochre (earthy mixture of metallic oxides and clay), turmeric; essential oil with oil of turpentine, other oil alcohol; vinegar and lime juice with sulphuric acid; coffee with roasted grains, occasionally roasted carrots or scorched beans and peas, baked horse liver.
A similar situation existed in other countries as well. At times, the adulterants were toxic as in the cases of mercuric sulphide, ochre, sulphuric acid mentioned above or the presence of lead chromate in turmeric and dimethylamino azobenze or butter yellow, a hepatocarcinogen, in butter.
Even now, the situation may not be any better in certain countries. The adulterators are quite innovative although innovative although unscrupulous.
Food Adulteration
Food commodities have always been vulnerable to fraudulent admixture or adulteration with cheaper inferior materials.
Such practices are revealed within countries when food materials are transported from the countryside to the urban centers.
In international trade, such practices were noted in the eighteenth century when the UK and other European nations were importing species oils oilseeds, honey, tea, coffee and such materials form their colonies.
Since wide variations in quality were suspected, the customs and excise department in England established analytical laboratories to check the purity of these commodities.
Valuable research work was carried out by these laboratories to investigate the problem of adulteration, to lay down standard specification and to devise analytical methods to detect and quantitate adulteration.
Frederick Accum, German Scientist wrote in 1820 that ‘Indeed it would be difficult to mention a single article of food which is not be met with an adulterated state and there are some substances which are scarcely ever to be procured genuine’.
He has cited common cases of adulteration which are revealing. These included black pepper with gravel, leaves, twigs, paper dust, linseed meal, pea flour, sago, rice flour; cayenne pepper with vermillion (mercury sulphide), ochre (earthy mixture of metallic oxides and clay), turmeric; essential oil with oil of turpentine, other oil alcohol; vinegar and lime juice with sulphuric acid; coffee with roasted grains, occasionally roasted carrots or scorched beans and peas, baked horse liver.
A similar situation existed in other countries as well. At times, the adulterants were toxic as in the cases of mercuric sulphide, ochre, sulphuric acid mentioned above or the presence of lead chromate in turmeric and dimethylamino azobenze or butter yellow, a hepatocarcinogen, in butter.
Even now, the situation may not be any better in certain countries. The adulterators are quite innovative although innovative although unscrupulous.
Food Adulteration
