research paper on food adulteration in india

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Key Milk Adulterants in India and their Detection Techniques: a Review

• Published: 08 December 2022
• Volume 16 , pages 499–514, ( 2023 )

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• Ajay Kr. Yadav   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-3514-6611 1 , 2 ,
• Meghana Gattupalli 1 ,
• Kavya Dashora   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-3682-4525 1 &
• Vivek Kumar 1  

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Adulteration in most food products is a rising challenge and a matter of concern in front of the authorities of countries, especially the developing ones. Even though the problem with milk contamination exists in developed countries too, yet the underdeveloped nations suffer more because they do not have adequate screening and regulating infrastructure to detect point-to-point adulteration. Besides this, another big issue that boosts malpractice is the lack of awareness regarding the maintenance of food standards. Among all the food products, milk is most vulnerable to adulteration and can cause serious health issues in consumers. Adulterated milk in circulation and consumption poses a bigger threat to regulators, consumers, and the milk industry equally in the implementation of food safety standards. There are numerous detection methods and techniques available globally which are in practice to analyze and differentiate adulterated milk. However, most of them are complex, expensive, and lab-based techniques that limit their application. In this review paper, various adulterants, their health consequences, and available detection techniques have been discussed. This paper will focus on types of milk adulterants and their purposes of mixing, consequences of mixing, and different available detection techniques including methods based on electrical technologies.

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Yadav, A.K., Gattupalli, M., Dashora, K. et al. Key Milk Adulterants in India and their Detection Techniques: a Review. Food Anal. Methods 16 , 499–514 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12161-022-02427-8

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Background : Adulteration of food items is common phenomenon in India. It includes both willful adulteration to improve texture and quality of food items and supply of substandard food items. The usual outcomes is outbreak of food borne illness. Aims & Objectives : i) To estimate the prevalence of food adulteration in selected food items ii) the awareness of subjects regarding food adulteration act and iii) their buying practices. Material and Methods : Samplesize:150 households was sampled, based on prevalence of adulteration to be around 50%, with 95% confidence interval and absolute allowable error of 10%. Sample household were drawn from the selected villages randomly. Pre-designed and pretested questionnaires was administered to fulfill the objectives and food items were tested using NICE food adulteration kit. Data were analyzed by numeral with percentage, Pearson’s correlation test and F test. Results: In 59.3% households, housewives purchased the food items for the house. Th...

Journal of Health and Allied Sciences NU

A cross sectional survey was under taken among 75 families using structured knowledge questionnaire and observation technique. The collected data was analysed using SPSS version 16. The study findings showed that majority (60%)of the subjects had moderate knowledge on food adulteration. Out of 75 samples tested, 2.7% chili powder samples were adulterated with artificial color and 10.7% of the common salt samples were adulterated with insoluble impurities. In tea powder 12 % were adulterated with iron fillings and 2.7% 2 were adulterated with artificial color. There was significant association of knowledge score on food adulteration with age (X2 (2) =8.627 p= (2), 2 0.013) and educational status (X2 (4) =9.876, p= 0.043) of the respondents. The study concludes that the food adulteration even though (4) low, still it is existing. However awareness of the public in relation to food adulteration should be ongoing especially to the general public with lower level of education.

JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY LEGAL AFFAIRS (ISSN - 2518-8798)

Harshit Singh

This research paper focuses on food laws in India and working mechanisms of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India. Current scenario in the food industry and executive actions in this field has received legitimate attention in this paper. Petty food business operators and regulations dealing with them have been reviewed to analyse the efficacy of these regulations. The lower stratum of the food industry serves a large section of the society and food safety procedures for such food business operators are of paramount importance hence these safety procedures have been deciphered to justify the objectives of the research. Reports issued by the Food Safety Authorities and Centre for Science and Environment have also received the lime light. These reports have been reviewed thoroughly as they indicate towards the contemporary issues in the food industry and methodologies adopted by food corporations. Statistical data has been incorporated in the research to ratify the facts and infer the implementation procedures adopted by Food Safety Authorities.

Food Science and Quality Management

Asrat A . Wakaso

Food is any substance composed of carbohydrates, water, fats and proteins, which can be eaten or drunk by humans or animals for nutrition or very important aspect for life. Food products are often a target of adulteration while supply chains usually deal with perishable products that could be harmful to consumers if they are not managed properly. There are two types of food adulteration; namely intentional/deliberate adulteration done by dishonest producers, retailers and processors for financial up liftmen and incidental/unintentional which may be done at the time of producing, handling and/or storing, etc. Different food items and drinks prone for adulteration include: dairy products, cereals grains, fats and oils, and others like honey, juice, peppers, etc. Food adulteration has a great impact on producers/farmers, consumers, enterprises and government. The main challenges are public health problem, lack of acceptance in the market due to lack of originality, decrease in consumer...

Paroma Arefin

Combating food adulteration is a great challenge in Bangladesh. The customer is the leading economic community and the focus of all commercial activities. The price, availability, variety, and attractiveness of consumer products have increased with the rise in people’s incomes. The business sector is practically bursting with complex technology-based new products. Regardless of misleading advertising, unsuitable media coverage, and food adulteration, it is challenging for the customer to select a particular foodstuff. The primary victim is a customer who casually takes adulterated food and pays the price of such corrupt practices. Bangladesh Government has enacted the Food Safety Act, 2013 to ensure food safety. But, consumer awareness is one of the most important steps towards reducing the adulteration of foods. Consumer faces different kinds of challenges to ensure food safety for them. To effectively face these challenges, consumers need to prepare themselves against these issues...

The changing food safety standards, stricter sanitary and phyto-sanitary requirements and improved global product norms trigger the necessity to improve legislative network of a country based on codex Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP). Due to multiplicity of laws in a majority of developing nations processed food industry is facing a major threat for survival and growth. In India nine different ministries were involved in controlling this area. Food Safety and Standards Act was established to integrate the food safety laws in India, in-order-to systematically and scientifically reorient food processing and manufacturing industry from regulation to self-compliance. In this study, authors' focuses on issues related to the food legislation enforced time to time based on international scenario and trade. This study brings out the fact that more holistic approach is seen in new scientific standard development and covers a wider variety of products including functional food, novel food and beverages. The basic requirements of food hygiene and Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) practices as described by codex are important for any national food safety control. However, the study concludes that there exists a gap in infrastructure and risk-based approach in the both implementation and enforcement. The study also provides the SWOT analysis of Indian legislative model and recommendation for improvement.

International Journal of Scientific Research in Science and Technology

International Journal of Scientific Research in Science and Technology IJSRST

In India, food contamination has become a serious problem now-a-days. Consumer education and awareness is considered as the need of the hour. Adulteration like corruption has become rampant with alarming rate. The government knows that most of the spices, dal, ghee, milk sugar, tea etc are adulterated. The nature of contaminants is often impure, unhygienic, harmful, and detrimental to public health like adding the urea to milk, duplicate products often sold for the products of reputed brand, cold drinks like Pepsi, Coca cola etc and unhygienic substances, dal with stone bits, tea garnished by saw dust, turmeric mixed with chromate powder, chilly powder mixed with red colour and even fruits vegetables and cereals sold in market often having high level of toxic metals like lead, nickel, cadmium etc. Adulteration of food stuffs is commonly practised in India by traders due to consumers’ behaviour. They want to buy the food stuffs at lower price as possible as lower. The sellers now try to meet the needs of the buyers and their purchasing habit/tendency. This tendency of purchasing the stuffs motivates the sellers and traders to sell the adulterated food stuffs in the markets. Despite of ISI or Agmark certification mandatory for all edible items and food adulteration laws, food contamination has been rising at alarming rate especially in India. To encounter this ticklish situation, consumer awareness may play a vital role to combat the prevailing adulteration from a right perspective with the help of mass media and educational activities in school or colleges.

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• FSSAI Launch 3 Initiatives To Highlight Food Adulteration Issues

FSSAI Launches Three New Initiatives To Highlight Food Adulteration Issues

With major concerns surrounding the now increasing issues across the country, the regulatory body launched three new initiatives in order to create awareness and curb the possibilities of further adulteration of food products.

In a bid to ensure its commitment to curb and maintain the integrity of the food supply chain in India, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) have come up with three new initiatives to tackle the rising concerns around food adulteration across the country. With reports and random inspections highlighting the seriousness of the issue concerning public health and safety, the regulatory body came up with these endeavours to detect and control said challenges early on before the food products reach the consumer.

To avoid the contamination of food, the regulatory body has come up with a Detect Adulteration with Rapid Test (DART) Book – where the guide will help consumers to spot low quality food products on a micro level. Containing 50 quick tests for regularly consumed items like milk, oil, spices and sugar, the handbook also includes detailed instructions and pictorial representations on what to expect while conducting these safety tests. With the aim to increase awareness in food safety and enhance surveillance, the initiative hopes to empower consumers and allow them to experience first-hand the telling signs of the authenticity of a product.

In addition to this, the FSSAI has also launched mobile food testing labs called Food Safety on Wheels (FSW), that will be able to facilitate on-the-spot quality testing for food products. The vehicles, equipped with all the necessary apparatus and infrastructure are meant to travel to public gatherings, schools, remote areas and consumer organisations in order to perform quick tests on sweets, milk, ghee and spices that are used commonly in cooking.

7 Tips On Keeping Food Safe While Travelling

To zero down on the food quality issues further, another initiative with a special focus on school children has been put into motion. Known as Food Safety Magic Box, the testing kit will contain a guide book for students to perform easy tests to detect contamination of any kind as well as shape responsible consumer behaviour from an early age.

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A COMPREHENSIVE STUDY ON FOOD ADULTERATION LAWS IN INDIA AND LEGAL RIGHTS OF CONSUMERS

In our India, people believe that Maa Annapurna is a goddess of food. So they offer prayers to her to get her blessings. We know that food, shelter, and clothing are the three basic needs of human beings. Food is one of the essential things for our livelihood. We require food daily.

Our Indian Constitution also emphasizes on “Right to food” and “Right to health” under Article 21. The food we consume daily should be pure, healthy, and hygienic. But, unfortunately, in the current scenario, people for their economic benefit are practicing food adulteration.

Food adulteration is an illegal practice committed by food shop owners, restaurant owners, street food vendors, food product manufacturers, etc. It is a process in which some foreign material or unwanted material is added to a food item which makes it cheaper. It is done by food shop vendors for their profits. Nowadays, India is facing a food adulteration problem at large. It is one of the rising issues in India after independence. Food adulteration of food contamination causes damage to the health of people who consume that adulterated food. It is very dangerous for the health of the people. Food Adulteration leads to many health issues like vomiting, food poisoning, diarrhea, stomachache, etc. Adulteration is like a silent poison that deteriorates the health of millions of innocent people.

We have many examples of food adulteration which are happening surrounding us like water is mixed in milk, husk is mixed in cereals, and rangoli is mixed in flour and many more. All these food products lack nutritional value and after consuming them, people face many health problems. As far as the current situation in India, 28% of food is adulterated as per the FSSAI report. Food adulteration is increasing day by day. India is the highest country in Food adulteration. To prevent food adulteration in India, the government enacted the prevention of food

Adulteration and food safety. After that in 2006, a comprehensive Act was enacted named as Food Safety and Standards Act 2006. This Act repealed all the previous existing food laws in India.

To prevent food adulteration in India, we have to create awareness regarding food adulteration laws in India among people. This research paper aims to conduct a comprehensive study of different food adulteration laws in India as well and the researcher wants to make people aware of their legal rights as a consumer. This research work is a detailed study of various food laws, rules, and orders in India and the legal rights of consumers.

Keywords:  Food Adulteration, Consumer, Prevention of Food Adulteration :

INTRODUCTION

            Food is like a fuel that is required to run our human body. If the food that we eat daily is not pure, if it is unhygienic, cheap, low quality, and lacks nutritional value then definitely it would be dangerous for our health. Food adulteration of food contamination is an illegal practice. It is a process of adding impurities or foreign materials to make the food cheap and to increase its quantity without compromising its quality. Food adulteration endangers national health and people’s health. People are also committing corruption in food products for illegal gains. To curb this illegal practice, the need for comprehensive laws prohibiting food adulteration was felt in 1937. Further, the prevention of food adulteration in 1955 was passed. It was passed to provide strong solutions regarding food adulteration problems. The purpose of this Act is to make sure that all people should get pure food for consumption purposes. Likewise, other food adulteration legislations, orders, and rules were passed. All these legislations were passed to ensure food safety and to prohibit food adulteration. Over the period, the need for one umbrella type or comprehensive food law fell, so all these minor laws were amalgamated into one major food law. Hence, in 2006 FSSAI was passed.

            The research paper aims to make a critical analysis of all these food laws, rules, and orders. To study their objectives, implications, and salient features. The researcher wants to address the food adulteration issue in India by studying all food adulteration-related legislation, to find out what loopholes are if any, and finally provide some suggestions regarding food adulteration laws in India. So that we would be able to overcome this major problem. This research paper also throws light on the legal rights and legal remedies available to consumers.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

            For this research paper, the researcher used the doctrinal research methodology. The primary sources for this research paper are important food adulteration legislation which was passed in parliament, online research papers written by other scholars, and the authorized website of FSSAI.

LITERATURE REVIEW

            For this research, the author studied books, online research papers, and legislation that was passed by the parliament. The author studied in detail all these primary sources as well and the researcher also went through the FSSAI website.

            The main objective of this research paper is to study all food adulteration laws in India in detail, so a comprehensive work can be done on this topic. The purpose of this integrated research work is to create awareness about public health, food adulteration, food safety laws, orders, rules, and legal rights available to consumers among readers.

WHAT IS FOOD ADULTERATION?

            As per the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act 1955, Food adulteration means “The addition or subtraction of any substance to or from food. So that the natural composition and quality of food substance is affected. The adulterant means “it is a substance which is used to contaminate or adulterate the other. It is one type of substance which is used in adulteration. Food becomes ready to eat when it goes through various processes like manufacturing, processing, packaging, etc. So food adulteration can take place at any stage of food processing from production to selling.

            Food adulteration is a malpractice regarding the quality of food so that the natural composition and quality of the food substance are affected. An adulterant is a substance which leads to adulteration. It is a substance that is added or substituted to the original food ingredients in a main food product to lower the quality of food. It makes the food item cheaper and not safe to eat or to consume. Adulterated food is like a toxin for our human body.

CATEGORIES OF FOOD ADULTERATION

Broadly there are three categories of food adulteration in India. These are as follows:

• Replacement – It means complete or partial replacement of the valuable ingredients.
• Addition – Addition of non-authentic ingredients or addition of cheap thing
• Removal – Removal of authentic valuable ingredients which was supposed to be part of it

TYPES OF ADULTERATION

Food adulteration can be classified into three major types. The brief discussion about all these types of adulteration is as follows:

• Intentional Adulteration – This is one type of adulteration that is perfumed with a particular intention. It is committed by milk distributors or sweet shop vendors. This adulteration occurs due to the greediness in people. They add some cheapest or another food substance instead of the original ingredient to increase the number of food items. It is for economic gain. Intentional adulteration is very dangerous or injurious to human health. E.g. water is mixed in milk to increase its quantity. We came across these illegal activities in day-to-day life. Such milk is not healthy and it is not sufficient to fulfill the nutritional requirement of our body. Another example would be some people adding stone, marble chips, sand, or husk in grains or pulses. This substance causes disease or infection in the human body. We know that such kinds of activities are also happening in the case of ration food which is distributed by the government at a very low cost for poor people. It indicates that the government is failing to keep invigilation or surveillance on these illegal activities. Improper implementation of laws by government officers is the main problem.
• Natural Adulteration – In this type of adulteration, natural products are developed that contain toxins such as seafood, pulses, green vegetables, mushrooms, etc. It may be intentional or unintentional. It can be done in chemical or organic compounds.
• Accidental Adulteration – This adulteration is not intentional or natural. It occurs due to negligence, carelessness, or ignorance among people. Sometimes people working in the packaging industry act negligently. Due to their ignorance, some foreign particles or unwanted substances get added to the original food product. This adulteration occurred by mistake. Creating alertness among vendors is the only solution to prevent such kind of adulteration.
• Metallic Adulteration – Metallic adulteration is adulteration caused due to the addition of some metal to a food product. Excessive consumption or consumption of dangerous metals causes serious health issues. This adulteration is caused due to the presence of certain metals like Pb, Cr, Ni, As, and Sn in food.

LEGISLATION GOVERNING FOOD ADULTERATION IN INDIA

There are various legislation enacted after independence to keep check on food adulteration practices. Among these, the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act 1955 is a principal law, and the remaining are minor laws. To understand fo0od adulteration legislation in India, it is important to study all these laws comprehensively and thoroughly. Along with this, the government also passed some orders and rules which were supplementary to the main laws. Let us have a look at each piece of legislation governing the Food Act. The brief discussion on some of the important food adulteration laws is as follows:

• PREVENTION OF FOOD ADULTERATION ACT 1955

This is one of the principal food laws. It was amended in 1964, 1976, and 1986. The Act was enacted to protect from adulteration or contamination of food products. This adulterated food may cause a high risk to the health of the consumers. In our country, some dealers whose job is to supply food products get corrupt in the food supply. They committed fraud in the food supply. Instead of pure food products, generally, they used to supply cheap or adulterated food. Hence, these people are the offenders under the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act 1955. The main purpose behind enacting this law is to prevent food products from becoming contaminated food. The Prevention of Food Adulteration Act applies all over India. This Act gives a comprehensive definition of adulteration. This Act also provides penalties for those vendors who violate any provisions of this law. Let us look at some of the penalty provisions of this Act:

• If any vendor violates any law for the first time, a minimum of 6 months to a maximum of 1 year imprisonment or a maximum Rs 2000 fine shall be imposed on him.
• If any vendor violates the law for the second time, a maximum of 6 years imprisonment and the license of the vendor will be canceled.
• If adulterated food leads to injury to the health of any consumer, the vendor is punishable under section 320 of the Indian penal code.

To keep a check on food adulteration practices committed by vendors or to take samples of adulterated food products and check their standards, the central government or state government can appoint food inspectors. They are the representatives or officers of the government. He is deemed to be a public servant under section 21 of the Indian penal code. The food inspectors have to collect samples from the vendors and send them to the laboratory for testing purposes. If it is found that the food product is adulterated he may give an order to stop the manufacturing and selling of the food products. This Act also speaks about the responsibilities of the central government under the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act 1955. Implementation of provisions of the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act 1955 is very crucial. The government has a responsibility to look after the implementation of the law by regular visitation and demanding reports from the state government. The government also works to create awareness among the consumers by organizing training programmers. This Act covers food standards, general procedures for sampling, analysis of food, powers of authorized officers, penalties, and other parameters related to food. [1]

• THE FOOD PRODUCTS ORDER 1955

The Fruit Product Order 1955 was promulgated under section 3 of the Essential Commodities Act 1955. The objective of this was to maintain hygienic conditions while the manufacturing of the fruits and vegetables product at the manufacturing unit. This order ensures that fruit products should be manufactured in clean premises with adequate quantity. This order was passed to maintain the quality standards of the food products on the food products. This is a certification mark applied on the food products packaging. After seeing this mark, the consumer gets an acknowledgment that the product is hygienic and has quality. This order makes it mandatory for all manufacturers of fruits and vegetables products to obtain a license. This food product order mark is applied to all processed fruit products in India such as pickles bottles, fruit jams, beverages, and fruit extracted. The requirement for obtaining a license under this order is to maintain personal hygiene, clean premises, water should be portable, efficient machinery and equipment, quality control facility, and technical staff.

• VEGETABLE OIL PRODUCTS ( CONTROL) ORDER 1947

In our country, adulteration in oil is rising nowadays. Oil is one of the essential food products which we use daily. This order was passed to ensure the quality of edible oil. Also to ensure that oil should be refined first before it is consumed by the consumers. As per this order, “Every producer or dealer shall follow all the directions related to the sale, stock, and distribution of vegetable oil products. He has to maintain records relating to the above aide things. Here, “controller” means “an officer appointed by the central government. He is a principal officer under this Act. He may order any manufacturer or dealer to stop the sale, stock, and distribution of oil products if he finds that the oil is adulterated”. [2]

• THE MEAT FOOD PRODUCTS ORDER 1973

The regulations regarding meat food products are covered in the meat food products in the meat Food Products Order 1973. This order was passed to regulate the production and sale of meat food products. It mandates licenses for all producers or manufacturers. It was passed to ensure cleanliness and sanitary conditions at the manufacturing unit of meat products. Apart from this, the said order speaks about quality maintenance at all stages of meat food products. Meat products are difficult to preserve since they are perishable. Various types of diseases can be transmitted from animals to human beings. E.g. bird flu. Hence to avoid these circumstances, as per this order,” all manufacturers of meat products who are manufacturing, selling, packaging meat products should have a valid license for all those business activities.” [3]

• ESSENTIAL COMMODITIES ACT 1955

This Act is also called a public interest Act. It was enacted for the public welfare. This Act deals with “the control of the production, supply, and distribution of and trade and commerce, in certain commodities.” [4] It is one of the most important Acts for every country. After the Second World War, India was facing a shortage of food products or essential commodities. In our society, some dealers create shortages of food, daily needed products, and essential commodities for their illegal gains. This leads to the security of food products. Hence, to curb such illegal practices and to regulate commodities distribution aid Act was passed. Under this Act, the government has the power to cultivate, produce, store, distribute, and sell essential commodities. This Act governs the delivery and supply of commodities or products. It is all about the governing essentials of food items.

• PROVISIONS REGARDING FOOD ADULTERATION PUNISHMENTS IN INDIAN PENAL CODE 1860

Chapter 14 of the Indian penal code deals with offenses against public health. We know that health is wealth. So it is the responsibility of the state to enact some machinery that works for the protection of public health. Offenses against public health are punishable under the Indian Penal Code 1860. Sections 272 and 273 deal with the penal provisions against food adulteration activities. “Section 272 speaks about adulteration of food or drink intended for sale. If somebody intends to contaminate food or drink, due to such illegal activity if the food becomes dangerous or poisonous to the human body, then the person who is selling such food or drink is punishable under section 272 of the Indian penal code. This offense is non cognizable, boilable, and non-compoundable. The punishment for this offense is up to 6 months or with a fine maximum of Rs 1000 or both.” [5] Section 273 of the Indian penal code speaks about the sale of noxious food or drink. “It means any person who is selling or offering to sell any food or drink which would be harmful to health is punishable. It is a non-cognizable, boilable, non-compoundable offense. The punishment for this offense is up to 6 months, or with a fine maximum of Rs 1000 or both.” [6]

• FOOD STANDARDS AND SAFETY ACT 2006

In 2006, the need was felt to amalgamate all existing food laws into one major law. Hence Food standards and safety Act 2006. It is one type of consolidating statute. It is a compilation of laws relating to food and to establish the food safety and standards authority of India. It laid down standards for food products and it regulates their manufacture, storage, distribution, sale, and import. This Act ensures that people should get safe food.” The objective of this Act is to avoid adulteration and safe delivery of food items without adulteration. The food authority and the state food safety authorities shall be responsible for the enforcement of this Act. They act as a monitoring authority. There would be a food analyst, his function is to send a report to a designated officer with a copy to the commissioner of food safety within 14 days.

• CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT 2019

It is said that consumers are the kings. They are like a god for the vendors. It is important to protect their rights and interests. This Act was enacted to protect the interests and rights of the consumers. Under this Act. Consumer grievance forums are established at the district level, state level, and national level. The consumers whose rights get violated can approach the consumer court and get relief.

LEGAL RIGHTS OF THE CONSUMERS

If any consumer’s right gets violated by any food shop vendor, street food vendor, or restaurant owner, or if any person gets injured or damaged after consuming adulterated food then he may file a written complaint to the food inspector. He may file a complaint by calling on the helpline number or by writing an email to the website of fssai. If adulteration of food has occurred proved by the complainant then the court may order the accused to pay compensation to the victim.

SUGGESTIONS

The suggestions for prevention of food adulteration are as follows:

• We need to focus on improving the storage facilities of food grains and other foodstuffs.
• The government should organize more campaigns to create awareness for food adulterations and the legal rights of customers among people
• The government can open “adulteration awareness cells” where people can report cases of food adulteration directly
• Proper implementation of food adulteration laws is necessary

Food is essential for our survival. Hence it must be pure, healthy, and hygienic. Food adulteration laws deal with preventive measures, testing measures of food adulteration, and penalties for those who violate the laws. Food adulteration is one of the rising problems in India. To overcome this problem, we have to be aware of food adulteration practices and government officers should take care of the proper implementation of the food l

                                                                  Name – Vaishnvi Ajit Bidarkar

                                                                  College – Manikchand Pahade Law College

[1] K. Jyotsana, Ambalika Aditi Dubey, Critical analysis of food adulteration in India, Volume 9 Issue 8 International Journal of Creative Research Thoughts (IJCRT), ISSN:2320-2882, d521,d521-527,2021

[2] vegetable 0il product (control) order 1947,Section 1, Notification No. 2-VP(2)/47, 9 th August,1947

[3] The meat food products order 1973, Section 4, S.O.No. 1677, 7.7.2004

[4] The Essential Commodities Act ,1955, No.10, Act of Parliament of India

[5] Indian Penal Code,1860, Section 272,No 45,Acts of Parliament,1860(India)

[6] Indian Penal Code,1860, Section 273,No 45,Acts of Parliament,1860 (India)

1 thought on “A COMPREHENSIVE STUDY ON FOOD ADULTERATION LAWS IN INDIA AND LEGAL RIGHTS OF CONSUMERS”

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New Delhi [India], April 4 (ANI): To tackle food adulteration, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has launched an innovative method to curb and detect the pervasive issue of food adulteration.

According to FSSAI webiste, it has launched a “Detect Adulteration with Rapid Test (DART) Book”, which serves as a guide for consumers to identify common food adulterants in household items. With over 50 quick tests covering various food categories such as milk, oils, sugar, and spices, the DART booklet equips consumers with easy-to-follow instructions and pictorial representations to distinguish between pure and adulterated products. These initiatives aim to empower consumers, enhance surveillance, and raise awareness about food safety across the country.

Additionally, FSSAI has launched the “Food Safety on Wheels” (FSW) initiative, deploying mobile food testing laboratories equipped with essential infrastructure for on-the-spot qualitative testing. These multi-purpose vehicles traverse remote areas, public gatherings, schools, and consumer organizations, conducting quick tests for specific adulterants in commonly consumed food items like ghee, milk, sweets, and spices.

FSSAI has also launched a food safety testing kit for school children the “Food Safety Magic Box”. This portable box, accompanied by a guidance book, enables students to perform over 100 easy tests to detect adulterants in various food products. This test will help in fostering awareness and promoting responsible consumer behavior from a young age in the country.

Commenting on these initiatives, officials from FSSAI emphasize their commitment to ensuring the integrity of the food supply chain and safeguarding public health. By leveraging technology and community engagement, the authority also aims to combat food adulteration effectively and foster a culture of food safety nationwide.

With these innovative measures in place, FSSAI is trying to enhance food safety standards in India, it is also empowering consumers to make informed choices about the food they consume. These collaborative efforts by the India’s food regulation authority will help in paving the way for a safer and healthier food quality in the country. (ANI)

This report is auto-generated from ANI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.

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Status of food colorants in India: conflicts and prospects

Ressin varghese.

School of Bio Sciences and Technology, VIT University, Vellore, Tamil Nadu 632014 India

Siva Ramamoorthy

Food colorants are imperative ingredients for attracting consumers and in deciding their preferences. Here we discuss the current status of natural colorants and synthetic food colorants on the Indian market by appraising the growth of the food colorant market both globally and nationally, based on published case studies on synthetic food colorants (SFCs), rules, and regulations implemented by Food Safety and Standards Authority of India on natural food colorants and SFCs. The substantial lacunae in the research on the impacts of SFCs in the Indian population identified through our literature survey signify the scope and need for appraisal of the issues prevailing in the Indian food colorant market as well as the necessity of renewing the food colorant policies. The illegal use of banned food colorants, the adulteration of natural food colorants, mislabelling of SFCs as natural colorants, and the permitted use of internationally banned food colorants, as well as the unawareness among consumers are serious issues recognized. Appropriate labelling to denote natural food colorants' presence, renewed standards of policy to determine the permitted use of food colorants, comprehensive regulations for the production and use of natural food colorants, stringent rules to constrain the production of toxic SFCs are obligatory to breakdown the dilemma on the Indian food market. Most importantly, awareness and responsiveness should be generated among consumers regarding the illegal use and adulteration of colorants and the need to use natural colorants. We also recommend a logo to designate the presence of natural colorants which will aid the consumers to make the right choice.

Introduction

Any food product is instinctively scrutinized from a visual sense before deciding on purchasing or consumption. Color remains one of the most prominent visual cues contributing to the sensory aspect of foodstuff. There is significant research underscoring that the color of the food psychologically manipulates impelling the expectation of flavor generated in our brain before tasting the food (Velasco et al. 2015 , 2016 ). Consumers’ inclination to a particular food item is primarily visual specific to the color of the food which aids the consumers to predict the flavor and taste of the food. Interestingly, the perception of colour is deep-rooted and comes intuitively to human beings. For ages, the colour of fruits, vegetables, and meat has remained a determinant factor to distinguish raw from ripe and fresh from old or spoilt.

The implication attached to colour to the food impacted the decision of worldwide food manufacturers to add in a variety of colour additives. The natural colorants derived from natural sources including plants and microbes were used to impart colour to food which was later replaced by synthetic colorants. Natural colorants are of two categories: organic (derived from living sources) and inorganic (gold, silver). Synthetic food colorants are chemicals processed from coal tar compounds and most of them contain dyes from the azo group (Dey and Nagababu 2022 ). Moreover, natural identical man-made colours like riboflavin are also available (Sezgin and Ayyildiz 2018 ).

A considerable hike in demand for packaged food fostered the massive use of food colorants. Henceforth, food colorants are added to every packaged and processed food product sold on the markets and almost every food item sold or manufactured by a food industry or a food selling outlet. Additionally, prepared food, e.g. in restaurants and other small food-selling outlets, contains food colouring agents to enhance their visual appeal to entice consumers. However, health hazards reported predominantly in children triggered by these fascinating synthetic colours need to be addressed (Arnold et al. 2012 ). The colossal use of permitted and non-permitted food colorants, their toxicities, and associated adulterations are global concerns with varying gravity in different countries.

India is considered a hub of food diversity in terms of the taste, smell, and colour of foods. The Indian food industry is gaining copious profit by marketing different geographical food styles. Bright attractive colours are the distinctiveness of Indian cuisines which aid the growth of the synthetic food colorant (SFC) industry (CATR 2019 ). Additionally, the market for natural food colorants is on the rise due to an increase in health awareness among consumers (The Hindu 2022 ). Besides the potential adverse health effects of SFCs, this hike led to another serious misbranding of natural colorants as synthetic. The misuse of the label ‘natural’ to attract consumers, the adulteration of natural colorants, and the lack of proper legal regulations in the processing of natural colours are serious issues demanding the imperative attention of authorities. There is a pressing need for proper labelling to distinguish the presence of natural colorants as well as to implement systematic standards on the processing and use of natural colorants. We have proposed a label for distinguishing the incorporation of natural colorants in food. Even though India is known for its multi-hued foods and natural resources of colours (Ramamoorthy 2010 ), hardly a few studies have been published regarding the status of SFCs and natural colorants.

Here we discuss the rapid growth of the Indian food colorant market, the reports on side effects, and the associated regulations in a comprehensive manner. Stringent regulations and government-funded research initiatives are required to tackle together this growing menace.

Rapid growth of the Indian food colorant market

Initially, food manufacturing industries utilized SFCs as additives, and nowadays most of them are not used in the U.S. and Europe, but available in India (The Indian Express 2022 ; Ramamoorthy 2014 ). The rationale for rather using synthetic colorants rather than natural colorants is more stability, less sensitivity to heat, light, and pH, lesser quantities producing higher intensities, and a cheaper mode of synthesis. Examples of prohibited colorants being sold and still in use in other countries include Patent Blue V, Quinoline Yellow, Ponceau 4R, Amaranth, Rhodamine B, and Azorubin (Sachan 2013 ). In 2023, the expected worldwide market size of the food colorant industry will be around $ 3.2 bn. and the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) is expected above 7% (Fig.  1 ). As per reports, developing countries like India, and China is extensively contributing to this surge (MRF 2018 ).

Expected CAGR food colourant market growth rate globally and in India (GMI 2022 ; MRF 2018 ). The coloured countries in world map denotes the major colour producers. (Synthetic colours-North America; Annatto-Brazil, Peru; Carotenoids and Anthocyanins-European countries; Safflower-Kazakhstan; Curcumin-India) (Color figure online)

Indian foods are well known for their versatile flavours and uniqueness depending on the country’s region. India’s rich culinary heritage could be seen in provincial cuisines which are a blend of herbs and spices. Unfortunately, the increased demand for packaged foods and competition on the food market has largely promoted the use of SFCs in Indian cuisines. The Indian food colorant market will achieve a CAGR of 5.3% by 2027, which is majorly impacted by synthetic colorants (CATR 2019 ). Further, India’s exports of food colours to the U.S., China, Indonesia, Brazil, Mexico, and Italy are increasing. These export market sizes have increased from $ 203 M to $ 263 M from 2014 to 2019 (CATR 2019 ). The market for natural food colorants is also growing steeply and is expected to reach $ 92.96 M by 2027, growing at a CAGR of 3.90% (EI 2018 ). Colorants like tartrazine, sunset yellow, quinoline yellow, indigo carmine, and amaranth are widely used to enhance the visual aesthetic of Indian food. There are hundreds of companies in India manufacturing these chemicals as food colours  (CATR 2019 ). At the same time, the natural food colorant market is on the rise due to an increase in health awareness among Indian consumers and reports on the harmful side effects of synthetic colorants (Satyanarayana 2022 ).

Indian case studies on toxic effects of SFCs

Previous studies have shown the perilous impact of colorants of health. Feingold ( 1975 ) first proposed the parallel link of hyperactivity and increased intake of SFCs in children (Weiss 2012 ). The stemmed investigations, clinical studies, evidences are ongoing. It has been shown by Arnold et al. ( 2012 ) that young children respond to synthetic colorants exceedingly and symptoms included irritability, sleep issues, lack of attention, impulsivity, and hyperactivity [a clinical condition called “Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder” (ADHD)]. Using mixtures of Erythrosine, Ponceau 4R, Allura Red, Sunset Yellow, Tartrazine, Amaranth, Brilliant Blue, Azorubine, and Indigotine on female rats and their offspring showed a lessening spatial working memory and sex-specific anti-depressive, anxiolytic behaviors (Doguc et al. 2015 ). In addition, there are also reports on the synergism between colorants and increased incidence of asthma and allergies (Amchova et al. 2015 ). Incidences of cancer associated with SFCs Red 40, Yellow 5, and Yellow 6 were also published (Dey and Nagababu 2022 ). Concerns for genotoxicity after intake of colorants like titanium dioxide, erythrosine, and brilliant black (Silva et al. 2022 ) should be corroborated in in vivo studies. Numerous organic dyes are also regarded as micro pollutants in aquatic environments owing to their toxic effects on aquatic life forms and their subsequent consumers in the food chain (Tkaczyk et al. 2020 ).

Several synthetic food colorants banned in developed countries are regularly used as food ingredient in India, e.g. azo dyes (Pratt et al. 2013 ). Azo dyes possess one or more azo groups (–N=N–) in their chemical structures and are toxic. Tartrazine is one of the widely used azo dyes which is reported to have toxic impacts on the liver, renal function, lipid profiles, and behaviour (Amin and Al-Shehri 2018 ). Likewise, in vitro studies of sunset yellow in rodents resulted in decreased testicle size and deformed lipid profile (Mathur et al. 2005a ; b ). And indigo carmine has been shown to have atrioventricular blocking capacity (Takeyama et al. 2014 ). Regardless, many of these banned dyes are permitted to use in India within certain limits, irrespective of the discrepancies regarding the health impacts of long-term use, the perception of food vendors about the permitted level of use, and the flow of non-permitted food colours on black markets.

Extensive use of non-permitted carcinogenic, neurotoxic colorants is a common practice observed in different parts of India (Nandakumar 2015 ). Melanil yellow, a potent carcinogenic dye banned by the Government of India was found in turmeric, ladoo, and besan at high levels in unorganized food sectors of West Bengal corroborating the lack of quality control and ignorance of food regulations (Nath et al. 2015 ). An analytical study performed to investigate synthetic food colorant usage in different states of India revealed that candyfloss, sugar toys, beverages, mouth fresheners, ice candy, and bakery product samples contain exceeded the limit of colourants. Practices of blending colorants with non-permitted colours (e.g. azo dyes sunset yellow, tartrazine) in mass amounts are also highly prevalent (Dixit et al. 2011 ). Likewise, the exceeding limits of the above SFCs have been detected in samples of coloured crushed ice with 8–20% higher than permitted levels. Non-permitted colorants like rhodamine B, metanil yellow, orange II, malachite green, auramine, quinoline yellow, amaranth, and Sudan dyes was also detected in a variety of foods (Tripathi et al. 2007 ). An extensive survey conducted in bakeries, supermarkets, street food shops, and fast food joints in urban and rural areas of Hyderabad with different age groups of pre-school (1–5 years) and school kids (6–18 years), adult individuals (19–44 years and > 45 years of age) from high-, middle- and low-income groups showed an intake of tartrazine, erythrosine, and sunset yellow higher than the permitted limits of 100 ppm (Rao and Sudershan 2008 ).

The literature shows very few case studies and investigations on the SFCs used in India in the last decade. Rapidly changing lifestyles, high inclination toward packaged foods, and rampant modernization with hectic daily schedules are likely leading to an analogous growth of food colorant levels intake and subsequently, a surge of health disorders. All these factors underline the necessity of utilizing safe natural sources of food colorants.

Forging food and natural colorants with synthetic colorants

The growth of the natural colorant industry is due to an increased consciousness of serious health effects caused by the colossal use of synthetic dyes. However, the factor restraining the prompt growth of the industry is the high cost of natural colorants when compared to synthetic counterparts. Red is the most demanded food colorant followed by green on the Indian market (EI 2018 ). Additionally, the COVID-19 pandemic has influenced the Indian organic market reflecting in 40% increased growth (EI 2018 ). Ironically, consumers who are asserting natural colorants didn’t know what is natural or chemical.

Natural pigments are extracted from both edible as well as non-edible constituents of plants such as flowers, seeds, leaves, fruits, roots, etc. Other major sources apart from plant constituents include marine fungi, insects, and microalgae. Anthocyanins, betalains from grapes, blue berries (Albuquerque et al. 2021 ), and beta-carotenes from carrots include pigments extracted from edible matter. Pigments like crocin from Crocus sativus , bixin from Bixa orellana (Rodriguez-Amaya 2015 ), and lutein from the marigold flower (Adeel et al. 2017 ), carminic acid from cochineal insect (Cooksey 2019 ) are derived from non-edible matter. Natural pigments are often combined with carriers, emulsifiers, and antioxidants to maintain colour stability since they are highly sensitive to air, light, and temperature. Besides, the impeccable curative properties of natural colorants make them apt candidates for chemo preventive therapy through diets (Saini et al. 2020 ).

Natural pigments like carotenoids are often water-insoluble, and organic solvents are employed for the extraction of pigments, leading to the selective separation of the pigment alone, without the minerals or carbohydrates and proteins of the overall natural pigment source. Although the extraction process does not contribute to any structural or chemical change in the pigment, how suitable the highly purified pigment remains for direct intake is a subject of investigation. Antioxidants such as ascorbyl palmitate are added to prevent oxidative degradation of pigments. Water insoluble pigments are altered to water-soluble substances by means of polysorbates, fatty acid sucrose esters, and additional encapsulation through polysaccharides and plant extracts. In India, safety of these additives should be regulated more stringently.

These extraction procedures and the lacunae of abundant raw materials trigger forging. For instance, the anthocyanin level in grapes is 30–750 mg per 100 g. Henceforth, synthetic counterparts of pigments are now accessible. These colorants have a higher market value compared to natural colorants. For consumed carotenoids this means that 76% are synthetic (Leepica and Siva 2021 ). The high cost of naturally derived pigments, the seasonal production (anthocyanins can only be produced during the fruiting season), and the acceptable coloration provided in fewer amounts by SFCs (Beate et al. 2020 ) also subsidize adulteration.

One of the challenges in largely populated developing nations such as India is vigilant and comprehensive monitoring of every small food selling outlet like street food vendors, where detection of illegal and prohibited ingredients, colorants, and several other additives becomes arduous to keep track of and eliminate. Each Indian state having separate procedures for registration and licensing prevents the coordination and regulation of food laws between the states. This leads to a whole heap of ambiguities in the food safety system, and quality regulation fuelled by a disagreeable practice of adulterating natural colorants and marketing synthetic colorants labelled as “natural”.

All natural?

An adulteration is the addition of non-permitted food colour additives to a food product. The accumulation of permitted food colours in exceeding levels is also an adulteration that results in severe health hazards (Gizaw 2019 ). Adulterated milk with chalk or diluted water, coffee seeds spiked with tamarind or mustard seeds), ice cream with pepperoni or washing powder etc. are examples of food fraud in order to make more profit (India today 2018 ). Synthetic colorants emerged in order to deceive consumers regarding food freshness, and to increase the visual attractiveness of food, e.g. malachite is green in vegetables, Metanil yellow in dal, Sudan red in red chili powder (India today 2018 ). Nevertheless, recent strategies are trying to promote the ‘naturalistic fallacy’: Around 490 food samples and 62 samples of natural, herbal colours were collected by the Society of Pollution and Environmental Conservation Scientists (SPECS) from places like Dehradun, Vikas Nagar, Sahaspur, Doiwala, Rishikesh, Haridwar, Rajpur, Mussoorie were adulterated with toxic chemical synthetic dyes (The Tribune 2016 ). One of the world’s most demanded spice and food colorant saffron was found to be adulterated with Sudan dyes (Petrakis et al. 2017 ), and the food colours anthocyanin and betalain with the textile dye ‘Reactive 95’ (Müller-Maatsch et al. 2016 ). Turmeric labelled as natural and organic was highly adulterated with lead chromate (Erasmus et al. 2021 ). Many “organic” labelled foodstuffs like tea powder, jaggery, and edible oils were also reported to contain non-permitted colorants (Pradeshi 2019 ).

Some of the used analytical techniques in the quality assessments of food colorants include spectrometry, thin layer chromatography, ion chromatography, coupled plasma mass spectrometry, gravimetric analysis, and the more sensitive and robust reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), quadrupole time of flight mass spectrometry (Martins et al. 2016 ). Although a broad range of food colorants used in foods are keenly inspected and certified by food regulatory boards for health safety, still the presence of prohibited colorants and additives cannot be excluded. Therefore, stricter regulations are obligatory to endorse natural colorants and natural food products without their synthetic counterparts.

Safety of natural colorants

The use of natural colorants in India is good within the permitted limits and in permitted foods (Table  2 ). Unfortunately, cases of adding natural food colorants unrestrained manner have been reported in India, e.g. the addition of annatto to cow milk for a yellowish appearance to resemble buffalo milk (Singh and Gandhi 2015 ). Above and beyond, the label “natural” may not mean that the used pigment for the food colorant has undergone numerous clinical trials without any reports of allergies and carcinogenic effects. Reports of urticaria, angioedema, hypotension, anaphylaxis in hypersensitive individuals on the use of plant pigment pressures for broad systematic clinic-level research on natural pigments (Singh and Gandhi 2015 ). Extensive studies are still necessitated to regulate the admissible levels of pigments although it is natural.

FSSAI approved natural colours and their specifications

The need for more stringent regulations

Authorities.

The global organizations that govern international food standards include Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC), an inter-governmental body established by FAO and WHO that devises the global food standards of which developing countries like India. Starting with the industrial revolution, the use of synthetic colorants became widespread. The United States first published the list of approved food colours in 1906 to curb the use of toxic chemical dyes. In 1957, the UK published legally approved colorants. In the early 1950s, a joint committee under the leadership of FAO and WHO was established to assess the safety of food additives including colorants (Lehto et al. 2017 ). In India, the Food Safety and Standards Act (2006) prescribes food regulations that are implemented by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), which is authorized and functions under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare of India. As per FSSAI regulations, the final concentration of synthetic food colorants should not exceed 100 ppm in foods and beverages (FSSAI 2009 ).

FSSAI has published the list of natural and synthetic colorants with permitted limits in 2 regulations (2009, 2011). Table  1 provides details of FSSAI-approved synthetic colorants. The non-permitted colours are Fast red, Rhodamine B, Metanil yellow, Bromo-cresol purple, Green S, Sudan 1, Sudan 2, Sudan 3, and Sudan 4, as well as the overuse of permitted colours (Deva 2007). Table  2 shows FSSAI approved natural colorants in India. However, the regulations do not provide a proper definition to define artificial colouring substances. There is no distinction between natural colours and the synthetically produced natural colours. As per FSSAI, food products are sold under the label ‘contains permitted natural colours/permitted synthetic colours/contains permitted natural and synthetic colours’ without any depiction of the used colorant (FSSAI 2011 ). There are also no rules regarding the labelling of the colorant amount added to the food. Only the synthetic food colorant package should indicate the total dye content (FSSAI 2009 ).

FSSAI approved synthetic colorants, their chemical name, structure along with colour index (FSSAI 2009 ; 2011 )

The international identification number of colours needs to be listed on the label. The presence of annatto colour in oils is labelled as ‘annatto colour in oil’. But there is no specification about other colorants. The readability of these terms for consumers is also questionable. The manufacturing and sale of synthetic colours should be under license and their packaging labelled as ‘food colours’. There are certain specifications regarding the diluents, filler materials for the preparation of synthetic colours. Around 29 diluents including sugar, salt, ethanol, lactose can be used for the preparation of colorants (FSSAI 2009 ). There are permitted levels of synthetic food colorants as well as natural food colorants. But, is there any limit for a maximum daily uptake of permitted food colours in India? Are there any reports on the cumulative effects of these pigments accumulating in our bodies?

Regulatory standards with a proper HACCP system implemented by the industry are the most appropriate means to ensure the industrial production of natural food colorants. In the context of natural colorants production, proper quality checking throughout the supply chain is mandatory, starting from the collection of raw materials to sales, to ensure adulterant-free natural colours. The minimum amounts of toxic metals, pesticides, contaminants, solvent residues, and adulterants should be the benchmark for the quality and approval of natural colorants. Chemicals will stabilize the natural colorants that underwent multiple processing to enhance their colouring. A crystal image of regulations limiting the additional chemicals added to natural colorants should also lessen the adulteration in colorants.

The unrestrained use of colorants in Indian street food markets urgently needs to be appraised. Analysis studies on street food vendors in Chennai underpin that 94% are unaware of even the hygiene practices, and 74% believe that applying for a license is an arduous task (Abraham and Krishnan 2017 ). The conditions are even worse in other metropolitan and rural areas of India, where tourists are largely attracted by street foods (Gupta et al. 2020 ). There should be initiatives from the regional level itself to curtail the sources of banned pigments and to conduct awareness programs for street vendors about the hazards. With the collective effort strengthened by officials at the regional and national level, street food vendors will undoubtedly alter the fortune of Indian cuisines and magnetize more foreigners.

Most of all, the food monitoring frequency should also be renewed on par with the bourgeoning number of small-scale as well as large-scale outlets. Regular updates of legal regulations, and redefining the rationale for permitted food colorants considering the increased dependency on fast food is also desirable. The negligible scientific reports on the use of natural, and synthetic food colorants purpose the requisite of large-scale funded research to understand the current scenario of Indian food colorants, as well to frame solutions considering primarily the health of consumers.

Consumers are impelling factors in the progress of SFC safety and the natural colorant market. A consumer perception investigation performed in Switzerland revealed that consumers prefer natural colour additives based on the risk and regulation factors (Bearth et al. 2014 ). In Germany, people prefer natural colorants derived from plants and not animal sources (Müller-Maatsch et al. 2018 ). A survey conducted in Ethiopia showed that 64.15% of people are not aware of the possible adverse consequences of food additives, and 70.96% would continue to consume them even after discerning the effects Moreover, a large part of consumers was not interested in checking the labels to determine food safety and quality (Getasew et al. 2016 ). This accentuates the need of presenting labelling with good readability and logos to specify the use of natural colorants for consumers to differentiate synthetic from natural colorants (Fig.  2 ). Moreover, awareness programs at regional and national levels will generate the active, knowledgeable, discriminative consumers.

Proposed logo for denoting natural permitted food colorants in food packages. Pigments extracted from plants are used to colour candies. The candy package is labelled with a proposed logo

Future perspectives

Meeting the rising demands of natural colorants is challenging owing to the tedious extraction procedures, low raw material availability, and high cost. Fruitful strategies such as gene editing technologies like CRISPR/cas 9, optimization of tissue culture techniques, utilization of stress factors like sonication, ultrasound, and magnetic field, and recognition of molecular markers for breeding should be employed for augmenting colorant production. For instance, lipases and carotenogenic genes were expressed in Saccharomyces cerevisiae to induce production of β-carotene (Fathi et al. 2021 ). Production of another natural colourant annatto have been enhanced through application of abiotic elicitors like methyl jasmonate, salicylic acid, paclobutrazol (Parimalan et al. 2011 ). However, research is still going on for the replacement of natural with synthetic substitutes, with studies on natural pigments being at substandard levels and their original function uncertain. Instead, more focus should be given to elucidating promising natural sources for pigments. For instance, beta-carotenes from microalgae such as Chlorella vulgaris and Dunaliella salina (Damergi et al. 2017 ; Xu et al. 2018 ) Additionally, research in exploring the likelihood to produce pigments from endophytic microbial sources (Sujithra and Ramamoorthy 2022 ; Sujithra et al. 2021 ) and large-scale production in bioreactors are providing possibilities for safer food colorant production.

More profound knowledge of natural pigments could help the progress and expansion of healthier, safety-specific functional food products. Besides, the intake of natural colourants in food also provides several health benefits including cardioprotective activity (Varghese et al. 2022 ). There needs to be a focus on scientific innovations and upgradation in the processing and storing conditions of the food such that it would reduce or eliminate the inclusion of food additives and also assist in the contribution of risk-free, secure food products to consumers without compromising on their catch factors and demands. Due to this demand and change in consumer expectations, food industries have been collaborating with top food research institutions to apply scientific knowledge to produce high valued nutrient-enriched food products (Garnweidner-Holme et al. 2021 ). The collaboration also aids the industries to stay updated on the latest progress in food science research to make possible the commercialization of safe, natural, healthy, and functional ingredients and foods in industrial food products. Currently, microparticles are used to enhance the solubility of pigments by a 100-fold, encapsulation inside emulsion system and polymers is used for stability of pigments over longer storage periods. Gamma irradiations have also remained a reliable technique to extend shelf life and stability (Martins et al. 2016 ).

Considering the regulatory and societal aspects of food colorants in India, a regularly updated list of permitted and non-permitted food colorants is needed. There should be an unbiased, unambiguous standard founded on the toxicity levels for permitting the colorants and their use. A delegated apprehensible description of the norms in production and sources of natural colorants is obligatory. Most of all, proper labelling defining the colorant should be provided esteeming the rights of consumers to know the ingredients of the food they intake.

According to Hippocrates, ‘leave your drugs in the chemist’s pot if you can heal the patient with food’. Paradoxically, we are in the state of consuming medicines because of the food we intake. The extensive use of synthetic colorants without any constraints is the causative factor of many health disorders. Some consumers are making informed choices and opting for natural and organic food products and also have become very specific towards their inclination for natural food colorants and flavorings, mainly because of the reports on health and environmental threats that synthetic colorants potentially have. However, the misbranding of “natural” and adulteration of natural colorants are also issues to combat. Collective efforts of authorities, traders, and consumers are required to promote the use of natural colorants without any adulteration.

Acknowlegment

The authors are thankful for the VIT managment for their constant support in the work.

Author contributions

All authors contributed to the study’s conception and design. Conceptualisation, writing-original draft: RV; writing-review, and editing; supervision: SR.

Not applicable.

Declarations

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

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Food Authority Launches Initiatives To Control Food Adulteration In India

The food regulation authority is emphasizing its commitment to ensure the integrity of the food supply chain, further safeguarding public health..

Photo Credit: Twitter

Food adulteration has been a major concern across India. Now and then, we come across news of people getting affected by eating foods, that are contaminated in some way or the other. To tackle the situation, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has recently launched initiatives to detect and control the issues of food adulteration. According to a report in ANI, the food regulation authority is emphasizing its commitment to ensure the integrity of the food supply chain, further safeguarding public health.

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FSSAI Initiative 1:

The FSSAI website launched a "Detect Adulteration with Rapid Test (DART) Book", serving as a guide for consumers to identify common food adulterants in household items. The guidebook contains 50 quick tests, covering foods from different categories including milk, oil, sugar, and spices. These quick tests come with easy-to-follow instructions and pictorial representations for our better understanding. "These initiatives aim to empower consumers, enhance surveillance, and raise awareness about food safety across the country," the report reads.

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FSSAI Initiative 2:

FSSAI has also launched the "Food Safety on Wheels" (FSW) initiative, where mobile food testing laboratories will be available, with essential infrastructure for on-the-spot qualitative testing. These vehicles will travel to public gatherings, schools, remote areas, and consumer organizations, "conducting quick tests for specific adulterants in commonly consumed food items like ghee, milk, sweets, and spices," the report explains.

FSSAI Initiative 3:

Additionally, the food regulation body has come up with a food safety testing kit for school children, which is referred to as the "Food Safety Magic Box". This portable box will contain a guidebook, enabling students to perform over 100 easy tests to detect contamination in various food products. As per the report, "This test will help in fostering awareness and promoting responsible consumer behavior from a young age in the country."

Commenting on these initiatives, the officials from FFSAI state that they aim to combat food adulteration effectively across the country by creating awareness among people. Alongside, it is also empowering consumers to make informed choices about what they are consuming.

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