An adulterant is a substance found within other substances (e.g. food, beverages, fuels), although not allowed for legal or other reasons. The addition of adulterants is called adulteration. An adulterant is distinct from, for example, permitted food additives. There can be a fine line between adulterant and additive; chicory may be added to coffee to reduce the cost—this is adulteration if not declared, but may be stated on the label. The term "contamination" is usually used for the inclusion of unwanted substances due to accident or negligence rather than intent.

Adulterants added to reduce the amount of expensive product in illicit drugs are called cutting agents. Deliberate addition of toxic adulterants to food or other products for human consumption is poisoning.
In food and beverages[edit]
Past and present examples of adulteration, some dangerous, include:

Roasted chicory roots used as an adulterant for coffee
Diethylene glycol, used dangerously by some winemakers in sweet wines
Apple jellies (jams), as substitutes for more expensive fruit jellies, with added colorant and sometimes even specks of wood that simulate raspberry or strawberry seeds
Water, for diluting milk and alcoholic beverages
Cutting agents used to adulterate (or "cut") illicit drugs—for example, shoe polish in hashish, amphetamines in ecstasy, lactose in cocaine
Urea, melamine and other nonprotein nitrogen sources, added to protein products to inflate crude protein content measurements[1]
High fructose corn syrup or cane sugar, used to adulterate honey
Water or brine injected into chicken, pork, or other meats to increase their weight[2]
History[edit]
Historically, the use of adulterants has been common; sometimes dangerous substances have been used. In the United Kingdom during the Victorian era, adulterants were common; for example, cheeses were sometimes colored with lead. Similar adulteration issues were seen in industry in the United States, during the 19th century. There is dispute over whether these practices declined primarily due to government regulation or to increased public awareness and concern over the practices. In the early 21st century, cases of dangerous adulteration occurred in the People's Republic of China.

Adulterant use was first investigated in 1820 by the German chemist Frederick Accum, who identified many toxic metal colorings in food and drink. His work antagonized food suppliers, and he was ultimately discredited by a scandal over his alleged mutilation of books of the Royal Institution library. The physician Arthur Hill Hassall conducted extensive studies in the early 1850s, which were published in The Lancet and led to the 1860 Food Adulteration Act and other legislation.[3]

At the turn of the 20th century, industrialization in the United States led to a rise in adulteration which inspired some protest. Accounts of adulteration led the New York Evening Post to parody:

Mary had a little lamb,

And when she saw it sicken,
She shipped it off to Packingtown,

And now it's labeled chicken.[4]
However, even in the 18th century, people complained about adulteration in food:

"The bread I eat in London is a deleterious paste, mixed up with chalk, alum and bone ashes, insipid to the taste and destructive to the constitution. The good people are not ignorant of this adulteration; but they prefer it to wholesome bread, because it is whiter than the meal of corn [wheat]. Thus they sacrifice their taste and their health. . . to a most absurd gratification of a misjudged eye; and the miller or the baker is obliged to poison them and their families, in order to live by his profession." – Tobias Smollet, The Expedition of Humphrey Clinker (1771)[5]

A history of food poisoning and adulteration is given in the textbook, Death in the Pot: The Impact of Food Poisoning on History.[6]

In drug tests[edit]
Adulterants can be added to urine to interfere with the accuracy of drug tests. These adulterants are often oxidative in nature—hydrogen peroxide and bleach have been used, sometimes with pH-adjusting substances like vinegar or sodium bicarbonate. These can be detected by drug testing labs, but some less expensive tests do not look for them.[citation needed]

Incidents of adulteration[edit]
In 1987, Beech-Nut was fined for violating the US Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act by selling flavored sugar water as apple juice.[7]
In 1997, ConAgra Foods illegally sprayed water on stored grain to increase its weight.[8]
In 2007, samples of wheat gluten mixed with melamine, presumably to produce inflated results from tests for protein content, were discovered in the USA. They were found to have come from China. (See: Chinese protein adulteration.)
In 2008, significant portions of China's milk supply were found to have been adulterated with melamine. Infant formula produced from this milk killed at least six children and is believed to have harmed thousands of others. (See: 2008 Chinese milk scandal.)
In 2012, a study in India across 33 states and union territories found that milk was adulterated with detergent, fat, and even urea, and diluted with water. Just 31.5% of samples conformed to FSSAI standards.[9]
In the 2013 meat adulteration scandal in Europe, horsemeat was passed off as beef.
See also[edit]
Surrogate alcohol: harmful substances which are used as substitutes for alcoholic beverages
Denatured alcohol: alcohol which is deliberately poisoned to discourage its recreational use
Ersatz
Impurity
References[edit]
Jump up ^ Weise, Elizabeth (April 24, 2007). "Food tests promise tough task for FDA". USA Today. Retrieved 2007-04-29.
Jump up ^ Burros, Marian (2006-08-09). "The Customer Wants a Juicy Steak? Just Add Water". The New York Times.
Jump up ^ The fight against food adulteration, Noel G Coley, RSC, Education in Chemistry, Issues, Mar 2005
Jump up ^ Jeffrey M. Pilcher, Food in World History New York: Routledge, 2006, p. 59
Jump up ^ Weston A.Price: Against the Grain, Section Bread to Feed the Masses
Jump up ^ Satin, Morton, Death in the Pot: The Impact of Food Poisoning on History, 262 pages, Prometheus Books, (2007), ISBN 1-59102-514-1 [1]
Jump up ^ Juiceless baby juice leads to full-length justice|FDA Consumer
Jump up ^ ConAgra Set to Settle Criminal Charges It Increased Weight and Value of Grain – New York Times
Jump up ^ Sinha, Kounteya (10 January 2012). "70% of milk in Delhi, country is adulterated". Times of India. Retrieved 23 February 2014.
A Treatise on Adulterations of Food, and Culinary Poisons at Project Gutenberg by Friedrich Accum
[hide] v t e
Food safety
Adulterants / food contaminants
3-MCPD Aldicarb Cyanide Formaldehyde Lead poisoning Melamine Mercury in fish Sudan I
Flavorings
Monosodium glutamate (MSG) Salt Sugar
Microorganisms
Botulism Campylobacter jejuni Clostridium perfringens Escherichia coli O104:H4 Escherichia coli O157:H7 Hepatitis A Hepatitis E Listeria Norovirus Rotavirus Salmonella
Pesticides
Chlorpyrifos DDT Lindane Malathion Methamidophos
Preservatives
Benzoic acid Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) Sodium benzoate
Sugar substitutes
Acesulfame potassium Aspartame High fructose corn syrup health effects public relations Saccharin Sodium cyclamate Sorbitol Sucralose
Toxins / poisons Aflatoxin Arsenic contamination of groundwater Benzene in soft drinks Bisphenol A Mycotoxins Shellfish poisoning
Food contamination incidents 1858 Bradford sweets poisoning 1989 Chilean grape scare 1993 Jack in the Box E. coli outbreak 2005 Indonesia food scare 2006 North American E. coli O157:H7 outbreaks 2007 Vietnam food scare 2008 Canada listeriosis outbreak 2008 Chinese milk scandal 2008 Irish pork crisis 2008 United States salmonellosis outbreak 2011 Germany E. coli O104:H4 outbreak 2011 Taiwan food scandal 2011 United States listeriosis outbreak Food safety incidents in China Foodborne illness outbreaks death toll United States ICA meat repackaging controversy Minamata disease Starlink corn recall Toxic oil syndrome 2013 meat adulteration scandal 2013 aflatoxin contamination 2013 Taiwan food scandal 2014 Taiwan food scandal
Regulatory / watchdog Acceptable daily intake E number Food labeling regulations Food libel laws International Food Safety Network Quality Assurance International
Food processing
4-Hydroxynonenal Acid-hydrolyzed vegetable protein Acrylamide Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease Food additives Food irradiation Heterocyclic amines Modified starch Nitrosamines Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon Shortening Trans fat