Adulteration means lowering the quality of food by adding cheap and inferior substances to it or by removing an important part of it, as well as the presence of harmful substance in the food.
According to the 1938 Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, food must not contain any added poisonous or deleterious substance that may render it injurious to health unless the added substance is required or cannot be avoided by good manufacturing practice and a safe level has been established; any food that does not meet these conditions is considered adulterated.
The food is also considered adulterated when some cheap, inferior and harmful substances are added to it.
The substance which degrades or lowers the quality of food materials is called an adulterant. The adulterants are much cheaper than concerned food stuffs. Therefore, selling adulterated food materials can bring a lot of ill money for the dishonest traders.
Adulteration also defined to include all kinds of economic cheating; for example, the removal of a constituent that would ordinarily be expected to be present; the addition of a substance to increase the bulk or weight of a product, to make it appear better than it is or to have a greater value, or to reduce its strength or quality; the partial or complete substitution of one product for another; and the concealment of an inferior or damaged product.
Counterfeit and food adulteration pose health risks from ingestion, social and legal risks from consumer illness and death, economic losses to food producers, suppliers, distributors and retailers’, as well as the governments that tax them.
What is adulterated food?
