Detection of adulteration in daily food items : Insights into laboratory procedures

Abstract

Food adulteration is a widespread global problem. Consumption of adulterated food has both short and long- term health implications. Presence of adulterants in immunity booster foods, plant beverages, spices and condiments are a growing cause of concern as these are taken almost daily and can pose high health risks. Most incidents of the food adulteration go unnoticed as small doses of adulteration do not show immediate effects. Deaths of infants and children due to intake of adulterated food, especially infant milk and powder milk has pushed the regulatory agencies to impose strict penalties on individuals and industries involved in such acts. Detection of adulterants require huge investments and often regulatory agencies, or small food testing labs do not get adequate support to setup of sophisticated equipment for detection of adulterants. Therefore, microscopic techniques and micro-chemical tests that do not need extensive paraphernalia and that can be carried out in any basic science laboratory can be reliable and alternative methods to detect adulteration in common food samples. These techniques are scientific, qualitative standard techniques that are authenticated and accepted worldwide. Lately, techniques like DNA analysis and ELISA based techniques are also being used for detection of food adulterants. Sensors with enzyme-based probes are also being used and these are used by many industries. However, the methods come with their own pros and cons. Further improvements in the techniques that are portable and simple will help in containing and detecting the problem of adulteration. The methods are cost-effective and approved by the food regulatory agencies and certified protocols are available. The methods are mostly qualitative and are reliable and dependable.