Protect yourself from adulterated food

ITRIED this cinnamon bread from a store in a popular tourist destination. It’s not cinnamon bread at all. It was only shaped, colored, baked, presented, and sold as such. What deception!

Sometimes food products are not faked, but they are expired, unfit for human consumption, or adulterated. In high school, I heard the term “adulterated” from my chemistry teacher. Adulteration is “the process by which the quality and nature of food is reduced through addition of adulterants or removal of vital substance”. Food adulterants refer to “the foreign and usually inferior chemical substance present in food that cause harm or is unwanted in the food”(publichealthnotes.com).

Some businessmen go to the extent of mixing products, usually food and drinks – with inferior, cheaper material, just to earn more. They add water to milk and vinegar. There are also cases where harmful materials are added to products in order to increase their weight! Other common types of food adulteration are wax coating (to make products look fresh) and misbranding/false labels. The manufacture and expiry dates are changed! Have you or someone you know noticed something like this?

Check the consistency in the quality of the food and drinks that you buy. Source your goods from trusted suppliers who adhere to quality and safety standards. Choose whole, instead of ground/ grated products. Be wary of cheap items. Chances are, they have poor quality.