Consumers' Knowledge of Food Adulteration and Commonly Used Methods of Detection

Abstract

Food adulteration has become a threat to many countries as most individuals have consumed food items without knowing that it has been adulterated, leaving the consumer with various ailments. This study identifies the degree of adulteration in some commonly used food items bought by consumers and the means of detection. The study comprised 384 women who patronized various food items for food preparation. They were asked if they have come into contact with adulterated food products before and to illustrate how they detect if a food item is adulterated. From the findings of this study, the respondents indicated that they will not consume a food item if they get to know that it has been adulterated, and 50.5% indicated that they have come into contact with adulterated food during preparing food. Various reasons were given by the respondents why they will not consume adulterated food, and the reasons included the following: the food may be dangerous to consume and not healthy for consumption and can cause stomach disorders. Few numbers (11 out of 384) of the respondents also indicated that they will still go ahead and consume adulterated food items since not all adulterants are toxic. Food items that are prone to adulteration as mentioned by the respondent included groundnut paste, chilli pepper, tomato powder, and honey with their adulterants ranging from flour, colour, Sudan IV dye, chalk powder, foam, cola nut powder, avocado pear seed powder, and many more. Means of detecting the presence of adulterants as indicated by the respondent were sensory and textural characteristics due to the cost involved in the use of other advanced techniques.