Brick dust is added to chili powder. This is an example of?

AIIMS CRE 2025

Applied Nutrition & Dietetics

Easy

Appeared in: AIIMS CRE 2025

Explanation

Food adulteration is defined as the intentional addition of inferior, harmful, or unnecessary substances to food, which degrades its quality and safety.
Adding brick dust to chili powder is a classic example of this fraudulent practice, primarily done to increase the bulk and weight of the product for financial gain.
Brick dust mimics the color and texture of chili powder but is a non-food item that can cause significant gastrointestinal distress and other health hazards when consumed.

Option B: Food decontamination is the process of removing harmful substances from food to make it safe. This is the opposite of the action described, which involves adding a harmful substance.
Option C: Food purification is the process of removing natural impurities to make a food product pure. The question describes adding an impurity, not removing one.
Option D: Food refinement is a legitimate industrial process to change the texture or purity of a food, such as milling whole wheat into white flour. It is not a fraudulent act of adding foreign material.

Visual 1: Infographic: Common Food Adulterants. A chart showing common foods (milk, spices, oils), their typical adulterants (water, brick dust, argemone oil), and the associated health risks.
Visual 2: Image: Side-by-side comparison. A visual showing pure chili powder next to chili powder adulterated with brick dust, highlighting the subtle difference in texture and color.

Clinical Relevance

Nursing practice connection: This is primarily an exam-oriented knowledge point with limited direct bedside application, so retain Definition and examples of Food Adulteration as background academic context rather than a clinical decision trigger.
Community Health Education: Nurses, particularly in community health settings, play a crucial role in educating the public about the dangers of food adulteration, simple tests to detect it, and the importance of purchasing food from reliable, certified sources.
Patient Assessment: When a patient presents with unexplained or persistent gastrointestinal issues, a nurse should consider the possibility of food poisoning from adulterated food as part of the differential diagnosis, especially if the patient has consumed food from an unverified source.
What if the question was about adding Vitamin D to milk? In that case, the correct answer would be 'Food Fortification,' which is the beneficial process of adding micronutrients to food to improve public health and prevent deficiencies.

How to Approach the Question

Step 1: Analyze the core action described in the question stem: 'Brick dust is added to chili powder'.
Step 2: Identify the nature of this action. A non-food, potentially harmful substance is being added to a food product. The intent is clearly fraudulent and not to improve the food.
Step 3: Evaluate the given options based on this understanding. 'Food Adulteration' is the precise term for the act of degrading food quality by adding inferior or harmful substances.
Step 4: Systematically eliminate the other options. 'Decontamination,' 'Purification,' and 'Refinement' are all processes that aim to clean, improve, or legitimately process food, which is the opposite of the action described.

Concept Tested & Keywords

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