Unveiling the Hidden Ingredients: Exploring the Menace of Food Adulteration

Aditi Gupta

Abstract: "Healthy citizens are the greatest asset any country can have." As stated by Winston Churchil. Food is the most basic necessity for human survival, however the majority of the foods we eat are adulterated or fraudulently produced. Adulterants are any substances that could make food unhealthy due to the presence of extraneous stuff. Food adulteration is the practice of putting inferior or impurity ingredients into food items, which lowers the food's quality. Food adulteration has a long history in human culture, is still a problem now, and is obviously very dangerous for our health. It has persisted in modern times and has happened since the beginning of time. Several foods, including milk and beef, are known to be adulterated both domestically and internationally. Adulterants are substances that are purposefully made by people, primarily for financial gain. In addition to causing diseases, these adulterants can have toxic or cancerous effects. This article focuses on the review of food adulterants, their potentially harmful effects on human health, and the measures implemented to curtail food adulteration.

Keywords: Food Adulteration, adulterants, food fraud, health, injurious, prevention, safety and standard