Food adulteration refers to the alteration of food quality that takes place deliberately. It includes the addition of ingredients to modify different properties of food products for economic advantage. Color, appearance, taste, weight, volume, and shelf life are such food properties. Substitution of food or its nutritional content is also accomplished to spark the apparent quality. Substitution with species, protein content, fat content, or plant ingredients are major forms of food substitution. Origin misrepresentation of food is often practiced to increase the market demand of food. Organic and synthetic compounds are added to ensure a rapid effect on the human body. Adulterated food products are responsible for mild to severe health impacts as well as financial damage. Diarrhea, nausea, allergic reaction, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, etc., are frequently observed illnesses upon consumption of adulterated food. Some adulterants have shown carcinogenic, clastogenic, and genotoxic properties. This review article discusses different forms of food adulteration. The health impacts also have been documented in brief.
Keywords: food adulteration, physical properties, food substitution, synthetic adulterants, health hazard
Food are organic substances consumed for energy, growth, and nutritional purpose. Food adulteration refers to the process through which the quality of food is lowered [1,2]. Broadly, food adulteration is a category of food fraud which is accomplished deliberately by human beings for financial gain [1,2,3,4,5]. It is also termed as economically motivated adulteration (EMA) that sometimes gives rise to authenticity issues: brand, origin, manufacturing ingredients, and their composition are often misrepresented [6]. Protected Designation of Origin (PDO), Protected Geographical Indication (PGI), Certificate of Specific Character (CSC), and Traditional Specialties Guaranteed (TSG) are some of the familiar terms [7]. Adulterated food products pose several health hazards, including health diseases, and they weaken the immune system.
Adulteration of foodstuffs has been frequently observed for centuries due to the contribution of several common reasons. The perishable nature, heterogeneity, and huge production of certain food items have always been tempting for dishonest traders; the similarity and diversity of animal species, stock limitation, and market price pressure also encourage them to perform intentional adulteration [8]. Some food items have been severely prone to adulteration due to possessing high dietary value and vast popularity. Food with a narrow profit margin also have frequently appeared in fraud lists [9,10]. Beverages and other liquid foods have drawn special attraction, with a wide variation in chemical composition, high quality, long aging time, and high production cost [11,12]. The competitive nature of the food industry due to consumer’s extensive demand for variety and low-cost food products has stimulated this issue further. In addition, the limitation of raw materials, demand–supply gap, and the ever-present tendency to reduce cost and maximize profits have created more opportunities and interest for invidious traders [13,14]. Other reasons include degraded moral society, spoiled socio-economic structure, and low legal standards, and their improper enforcement may play a significant role [15,16].
Many food adulteration incidents were encountered in the past. The China gutter oil scandal is such an example that used illicit cooking oil from restaurant fryers, grease traps, and slaughterhouse waste, or extracted from discarded animal parts. Later, such contaminated food products were also found in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore. Addition of Sudan dye was reported in fats and oils, herbs and spices, food additives, and flavorings several times. In 2007, two cases of tetrodotoxin poisoning were found, which were caused by substitution of monkfish with pufferfish. In 2008, the contamination of powdered infant milk in China caused illness in 294,000 children, with 50,000 hospitalizations and 6 deaths. In 2013, a methanol poisoning affected 694 patients, with 8 deaths in Iran. In 2018, methanol toxication caused extensive hemorrhagic cerebral infarction or multiple organ failure that affected 90 individuals, with 64 fatalities in Malaysia [17]. Dioxins in pork in 2008, milk with detergent, fat, and urea in 2012, and processed beef products with horsemeat in 2013 are also some renown incidences [18]. It is reported that the global food industry faces an expense of approximately USD 10-15 billion per year due to health and financial damage associated to intentionally contaminated food products [19]. The demand for food increased with the emergence of COVID-19 and Brexit, which resulted in reduced industry inspections, weakened governance, audits, and ever-increasing pressure on the food industry [20].
Several incidents on food adulteration were reported in recent times. The Trello and European Commission food fraud databases reveal many such incidents. As part of Operation OPSON XI, coordinated by Europol for EU-wide action and which took place between December 2021 and May 2022, the authorities of 26 countries seized almost 27,000 tons of fake food and 15 million liters of alcoholic beverages. In October 2022, Food Safety and Halal Food Authority of Pakistan seized 4000 L of fake honey adulterated with sugars, chemicals, and wax. In December 2022, more than 12 people died and more than 15 people lost their eyesight in Bihar, India, after consuming adulterated alcohol. In April 2022, the Spanish Agency for Food Safety and Nutrition launched an alert regarding the production of fake olive oil and extra-virgin olive oil adulterated with other vegetable oils. In Turkey, it was reported in August 2022 that ground sumac was found to be adulterated with unauthorized color. In August 2022, curry powder from Cameroon was found adulterated with Orange II by authorities in Belgium. In August 2022, authorities in Pakistan seized tea made with textile dyes, sawdust, and other fillers. Cumin seeds mixed with 30 tons of adulterants were seized by authorities in India in July 2022. Between January 2022 and March 2022, the FDA collected and tested 144 samples of imported honey and found ten percent of the samples to be adulterated with undeclared added sweeteners. In Germany, sausage and poultry meat were alleged to contain undeclared “mechanically separated meat” ingredients (March 2022).
The technical progress for food adulteration research is quite prominent in modern times. Earlier, adulterated food products were identified on the basis of a few physical parameters, such as refractive index, viscosity, melting point, saponification, iodine value, etc. With the expansion of global markets and business competition, the frequency of food adulteration has increased exponentially, which gave rise to the necessity of highly efficient techniques. The food governing authorities around the world have also established the official methods for detection of food adulteration. Currently, chromatography and spectrometry are widely used analytical techniques. Protein and DNA-based techniques are also in practice. In addition, metabolomics, hyperspectral imaging, and chemometrics are some other techniques. The state-of-the-art techniques are highly contributing to combat food adulteration. Still, there remain some drawbacks, such as complexity, excessive use of toxic compounds, laborious sample preparation, etc. [21,22]. Lack of collaboration between scientists and food policy-makers might be an obstacle in identifying the need for proper research and development. In addition, there lies a gap between laboratory research and practical aspects [23]. Food adulteration is a complicated phenomenon and involves the availability of numerous fraudulent options discovered by dishonest people. It is important to understand different forms and the dynamic nature of food adulteration and their impacts on human health. Regular market studies and the development of laboratory techniques for the qualitative and quantitative assessment of new forms of food adulterants would be critical. Gathering and analyzing the possible forms of adulteration in a single frame would be highly useful to bridge the gap for research.
This article presents a cohesive review of the common forms of food adulteration and origin fraud of food. In this article, the health impacts associated with adulteration have also been addressed in brief. The scientific literature for the period of 1995 to 2022 was searched using the keywords “food adulteration”, “economically motivated adulteration”, “origin fraud”,” mislabeling”, and “health impact of food adulteration”. Approximately 400 scientific articles and reports were screened and reviewed. Of those articles, 174 were found more relevant and reviewed extensively. The Trello and European Commission food fraud databases along with relevant newspapers and magazine articles were reviewed for recent food adulteration incidents. The information covered in this article will help researchers, food engineers, scientists, and policy-makers to combat food adulteration and health hazard.
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