How to detect if your food contains contaminants? FSSAI explains

With frequent headlines about food adulteration to cut costs or infection outbreaks from contaminated ingredients, ensuring food safety and quality has become a critical concern. By purchasing prepared foods or raw ingredients from trusted sources, we can minimize our risk of consuming contaminated foods. Additionally, it is important to follow hygienic cooking, eating, and food storage practices at home. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) recently shared a post on Instagram discussing different types of food contaminants and how to identify each of them. In the caption, FSSAI wrote, “Clean hands, clean surfaces, safe food! A little care goes a long way in keeping your meals safe!”

This knowledge can help you remain alert and aware before consuming any potentially contaminated foods:

Here are 3 possible types of food contamination shared by FSSAI:

1. Physical contamination

Physical contamination occurs when a physical object enters the food during production or preparation. It may be intentional, as seen in the cases of spurious food products, or accidental due to lack of awareness. Physical contaminants include any foreign material such as stones, stems, seeds, feathers, sand, nails, dust, dirt, straw, hair, etc. Physical objects in food can pose a choking hazard and damage teeth.

How to detect: FSSAI recommends observing the food carefully, feeling it with your hands and checking it by washing it, sifting it, etc.

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2. Chemical contamination

Chemical contamination occurs when food comes into contact with toxic chemicals, creating potential chemical hazards. food poisoning. Preservatives, additives permitted beyond safe limits, pesticide residues, insecticides, reused oil, and cleaning chemicals are all examples of chemical contaminants.

New oil and used oil should not be mixed. Avoid using excessive detergent or disinfectant to clean food preparation surfaces, glassware, plates or cutlery. Also, rinse and dry dishes thoroughly after using detergent. Use only food-grade plastic and metals for cooking.

How to detect: Look for unusual colors, smells, and flavors.

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3. Microbiological contamination

Biological or microbiological contamination occurs when food is contaminated by living organisms or the substances they produce. Invisible pollution in this case includes bacteriayeasts, protozoa, mold and viruses, while visible contaminants include flies, worms, cockroaches, weevils, caterpillars, etc.

Biological contamination can cause foodborne illnesses. In this case, disease-causing microorganisms, also called pathogens, enter the food and multiply to dangerous levels before being ingested. Bacteria and other pathogens thrive in foods that are moist, rich in protein or starch, or of neutral acidity.

How to detect: Observe the changes in texture, smell and color. There are special tests available for each.

Follow food safety practices at home and avoid eating foods outside the home that seem risky or even questionable. Stay healthy!