Adulteration is the practice of secretly mixing a substance with another, typically in food, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, fuel, or other chemicals. It is the act of adding an adulterant, which is a substance that is not normally present in any specification or declared substances due to accident or negligence rather than intent, or for the introduction of unwanted substances after the product has been made. Adulteration implies that the adulterant was introduced deliberately in the initial manufacturing process, or sometimes that it was present in the raw materials and should have been removed, but was not.
Adulteration can be distinguished from permitted food preservatives, and there can be a fine line between adulterant and additive. For example, chicory may be added to coffee to reduce the cost or achieve a desired flavor, which is adulteration if not declared, but may be stated on the label. Chalk was often added to bread flour to reduce the cost and increase whiteness, but the calcium confers health benefits, and in modern bread, a little chalk may be included as an additive for this reason.
Adulteration can also occur in drug testing, where it involves the manipulation of a urine specimen with chemical adulterants to produce a false negative test result. Common adulterants include household chemicals such as hypochlorite bleach, laundry detergent, table salt, and toilet bowl cleaner, as well as commercial products such as UrinAid, Stealth, Urine Luck, and Klear. These adulterants can invalidate a screening test result, a confirmatory test result, or both.
In the context of food, adulteration can be dangerous to human health, as it can involve the addition of harmful substances or the removal of essential nutrients. In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is responsible for enforcing laws that prohibit the adulteration of food and drugs. The consequences of adulteration can range from fines to imprisonment, depending on the severity of the offense.
