Why We All Need to Know About Food Adulteration Tests

A few months ago, Goa people suffered a shock when they realized that the fish and eggs they were so fond of were adulterated. The issue became so important that even hours were spent during state assembly sessions to discuss it. If you have also been aware of the issue of adulteration and you are worried that the foods you and your loved ones are consuming are not pure enough, then you should enhance your knowledge of food adulteration tests. 

These tests can be conducted at home or in a lab. You should seriously consider doing the food adulteration tests on all the items you consume because of the following reasons.

The Stats

According to the data revealed by the Public Health Foundation of India, 80 percent of all premature deaths are related to contaminated water and food.

• The Amount of Pesticides Used is Too High

Overuse of fertilizers and pesticides is a common problem in India. This is why a common contaminant that can be found in most food adulteration tests are fungicide and pesticide residues. You should know that even 50 ppm of organophosphorus pesticides like monocrotophos or malathion can be lethal if humans consume it. If you consume apples or grapes, you should wash them thoroughly as the consumption of pesticides or fungicides can lead to serious health issues.

• Use of Bad Additives is Increasing

Though pesticides are a serious problem, many products that are used in everyday cooking are not grown on the field. Examples of such food items include everything from milk to cottage cheese, ghee to butter. These products are adulterated by people who have bad intentions. Even the fruits we consume thinking that its good for our health are forced to ripen faster by adding substances like copper sulfate that is not good for health. Some of the spices we include in our foods also need to undergo food adulteration tests because coloring agents are often added to them.

• Money Matters

The biggest motive behind the rapid increase in food adulteration and the need to do food adulteration tests is money. People who contaminate food do it for the purpose of saving money. The cheaper additives they add to a food, the more is their profit.

As the Indian mindset is also of saving money while running a household, Indians easily buy cheap food if its available and don’t bother much about quality. This is sad because the people forget the long-term costs they have to pay when the contaminated foods harm their overall health and well-being.

• Processed Foods are Dangerous

All of us have processed foods like frozen foods and chips every day without thinking that these little packets are quite dangerous for health. There is no monitoring mechanism in our country that is strong enough to make sure that the processed foods are abiding by the required quality standards or not.

• The Health Consequences

Various surveys have revealed that about half of the food items in India are adulterated intentionally. Though the people who do this misdeed are only concerned about the money they earn, they don’t know, or they don’t bother about the fact that they are serving death to their victims. Yes, you read it right. Mineral oil added to edible oil and fats can cause cancer or lead chromate added to spices can lead to serious health issues like paralysis, brain damage, anemia, and abortions. 

The Book

If you are a consumer who is worried after reading all these reasons to opt for food adulteration tests, then you should know that there is guidance available. The FSSAI- The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India has released a small manual that can guide you on how to do food adulteration tests at home. The book is named as “Detect Adulteration with Rapid Test (DART)” and has 41 tests that range from testing everything from food grains to spices and even milk products.

Small or Large?

Many people think that conducting food adulteration tests at home or labs is not necessary as the amount of adulteration is minimal. These people should realize that the harm done in small quantities over a long period can lead to drastic results.

Conclusion

In essence, it could be said that food adulteration is like a disease that is spreading quickly and we all need to learn food adulteration tests if we want everything that goes into our stomach to be healthy.