CHEMISTRY INVESTIGATORY PROJECT

Study of Common Food Adulterants in Fat, Oil,

Butter, Sugar, Turmeric Powder, Chili Powder and
Pepper.

Divoat Srilak Gunathilaka Mestiyage Don

12-D
Acknowledgement:
I would like to express my sincere
gratitude to my Chemistry teacher,
Ms.Nafeera Jamshid, for guiding and
supporting me throughout the
development of this investigatory
project.
Last but not least, I would like to
express my gratitude to all those who
helped directly or indirectly, in the
successful completion
of this project.
Certificate:
 INDEX
S.no Content Pg no

1 Introduction

2 Objectives

3 What is Food Adulteration?

4 Why is Food Adulteration Done?

5 Types of Food Adulterants

6 Common Food Adulterants and Their Identification

7 Health Hazards of Common Adulterants

8 Experimental Procedure

9 Simple Tests for Detection of Adulterants

10 Observations and Results

11 Discussion

12 Health Hazards of Adulterated Food

13 Precautionary Measures

14 Prevention of Food Adulteration

15 Conclusion

16 Bibliography

17 Appendix
1. Introduction:
Q: What is food adulteration and why is it a
concern?
Food adulteration is the process of adding
unwanted or harmful substances to food to
increase quantity or enhance appearance. These
adulterants degrade the quality of food and can
pose serious health hazards. Adulteration is
often done for economic gain and is a
widespread issue in many countries. This
project aims to study the presence of
adulterants in commonly used food items.
 2. Objectives:
➢​ What are the goals of this project?
●​ To understand the concept and causes of food
adulteration.​

●​ To identify common food adulterants in daily-use items.​

●​ To study the effects of adulterants on human health.​

●​ To perform tests that can detect adulterants using simple

chemicals.​

●​ To promote awareness about food safety among

consumers.​
3. What is Food Adulteration?
Food adulteration is defined as the act of
intentionally debasing the quality of
food offered for sale either by the
admixture or substitution of inferior
substances or by the removal of some
valuable ingredient. This unethical
practice is commonly carried out by
sellers for economic benefit, without
concern for consumer health. It can lead
to nutritional deficiencies and serious
health risks if consumed over time.
4. Why is Food Adulteration Done?
Adulteration is often done to increase
profit by reducing the quality of food
items. Sellers may add cheaper
substances to increase volume,
enhance appearance, or improve
shelf life. Some of the reasons
include:
●​Economic gain
●​Lack of strict enforcement of food
laws
●​Consumer unawareness and lack
of basic testing knowledge
●​Competitive pressure in the
market
5. Types of Food Adulteration:
There are mainly two types:
1.​ Intentional Adulteration:
Deliberate addition of inferior
substances such as sand, stones,
starch, and artificial colors.
2.​ Incidental Adulteration:
Contamination due to unhygienic
handling, storage, or
transportation, including
pesticide residues, insects, and
rodents.
6. Common Food Adulterants and Their
Identification:

Food Item Common Reason

Adulterant
Milk Water Increases quantity
Ghee Vanaspati Cheaper substitute
Turmeric Lead chromate Bright color
Chili Powder Brick powder Increases weight
Sugar Washing soda Appearance
Pepper Papaya seeds Substitution
Butter Starch Bulking agent

These adulterants are harmful when consumed

regularly and need to be detected through testing.
 7. Health Hazards of Common
Adulterants:

Adulterant Harmful Effect

Vanaspati Liver issues, increased cholesterol

Argemone oil Dropsy, eye damage

Lead chromate Kidney and brain damage, cancer risk

Brick powder Stomach irritation, ulcers

Washing soda Digestive problems, acidity

Papaya seeds Non-toxic but misleading and wasteful

Starch Low nutritional value, diabetes risk

8. Experimental Procedure (General

Steps):
1.​ Take a small quantity of sample.
2.​ Add appropriate reagent.
3.​ Mix thoroughly.
4.​ Observe for color change or physical behavior.
5.​ Note observations.
9. Simple Tests for Detection of
Adulterants:

Test 1: Detection of Vanaspati in Ghee or

Butter (Baudouin Test)
🔬 Materials Required:
●​ Concentrated Hydrochloric Acid (HCl)
●​ Sugar
●​ Small sample of ghee or butter

🔍 Procedure:
1.​ Take 1 teaspoon of the ghee/butter in a test tube.
2.​ Add 2-3 drops of concentrated HCl.
3.​ Add a pinch of sugar.
4.​ Shake well and let it stand for 10 minutes.

👁️ Observation:
●​ Pink or red color appears.

✅ Conclusion:
●​ Pink color = Vanaspati adulteration detected.
●​ No color change = Likely pure ghee.
Test 2: Detection of Argemone Oil in
Edible Oil
🔬 Materials Required:
●​Alcohol
●​Concentrated Nitric Acid
●​Small quantity of edible oil
🔍 Procedure:
1.​ Mix 5 ml of oil with 5 ml of alcohol.
2.​ Add 2 ml of concentrated nitric
acid.
3.​ Shake the mixture gently.
👁️ Observation:
●​Red or orange color appears.
✅ Conclusion:
●​Red/orange color = Argemone oil
present.
Test 3: Detection of Lead Chromate in
Turmeric Powder
🔬 Materials Required:
●​Alcohol
●​Concentrated Hydrochloric Acid (HCl)
●​Turmeric powder
🔍 Procedure:
1.​Mix a small amount of turmeric powder
with alcohol.
2.​Add a few drops of HCl.
👁️ Observation:
●​Pink color forms.
✅ Conclusion:
●​Pink color = Presence of lead chromate.
Test 4: Detection of Brick Powder in
Chili Powder
🔬 Materials Required:
●​ Water
●​ Chili powder sample

🔍 Procedure:
1.​Add a teaspoon of chili powder to a glass of water.
2.​Stir and allow it to settle.

👁️ Observation:
●​ Brick powder settles at the bottom.

✅ Conclusion:
●​ Settling of red sediment = Brick powder present.
Test 5: Detection of Washing Soda in
Sugar
🔬 Materials Required:
●​Hydrochloric Acid (HCl)
●​Sugar sample
🔍 Procedure:
1.​ Add sugar sample to a test tube.
2.​ Add few drops of HCl.
👁️ Observation:
●​Fizzing or effervescence observed.
✅ Conclusion:
●​Effervescence = Washing soda
present.
Test 6: Detection of Papaya Seeds in Pepper
🔬 Materials Required:
●​Water
●​Pepper sample
🔍 Procedure:
1.​ Add pepper to a glass of water.
👁️ Observation:
●​Papaya seeds float while real pepper
sinks.
✅ Conclusion:
●​Floating seeds = Adulteration with
papaya seeds.
Test 7: Detection of Starch in Butter

🔬 Materials Required:

●​Iodine solution
●​Butter sample

🔍 Procedure:

1.​Add few drops of iodine solution to butter.

👁️ Observation:

●​Blue-black coloration appears.

✅ Conclusion:

●​Blue-black color = Starch adulteration.

10. Observations and Results:

Each test showed the presence or absence of
adulterants based on visible changes. These
simple chemical reactions help consumers
check the purity of food.
11. Discussion:
Food adulteration remains a major
concern in many countries. The tests
performed in this project demonstrate
how even school-level chemistry
knowledge can be applied to detect
harmful substances in food. Raising
awareness among consumers can help
reduce the prevalence of adulteration.
12. Health Hazards of Adulterants:
Adulterated foods can lead to various health issues including
food poisoning, cancer, organ damage, and even death. For
example:

➔​ Lead chromate affects the brain and kidneys.

➔​ Argemone oil causes dropsy.

➔​ Washing soda causes digestive problems.

13. Precautionary Measures:

➔​ Buy food from reliable sources.
➔​ Check packaging and FSSAI
certification.
➔​ Avoid buying loose, unpackaged
food.
➔​ Educate yourself and others about
food testing.
➔​ Report adulteration cases to
authorities.
14. Prevention of Food Adulteration:

➔​ Buy sealed, certified products.

➔​ Check expiry and packaging.

➔​ Avoid buying loose goods.

➔​ Learn basic detection tests.

➔​ Report adulteration to authorities.

15. Conclusion:

This project helped me

understand the seriousness of
food adulteration. Simple
chemistry tests can help
identify harmful substances.
Public awareness and strong
regulations are essential to
ensure food safety. Consumers
should stay alert and educated
to protect their health.
16.Bibliography:
➔​ Food Safety and Standards Act​

➔​ FSSAI Official Website – https://www.fssai.gov.in​

➔​ "Exemplary Punishment Can Prevent Food Adulteration" – The Daily Asian Age​
https://bit.ly/3Xe6Ysd​

➔​ "6 Easy Ways to Identify Adulterated Food at Home" – Times Now​

https://bit.ly/4dPvUvL​

➔​ "Positive and Negative Tests for Vanaspati in Butter" – ResearchGate​

https://bit.ly/4cSOo8g
➔​ https://adulterationplus.blogspot.com/2015/

➔​ https://krishijagran.com/news/how-to-check-adulteration-in-mustard-oil-as-per-fssai/

➔​ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ews2NNFV7GQ

➔​

Note: Some details and experimental procedures in this project were collected and
cross-referenced from these online sources.
17.Appendix:

Figure 1 Figure 2

Figure 3: Figure 4:

Figure 1: Vanaspati Test – pink color

Figure 2: Argemone oil Test–Red/orange color

Figure 3: Lead chromate–Test Pink color

Figure 4:Brick powder Test–red sediment