UPSC Prelims 2017 · Question 23 of 99

UPSC Prelims 2017 question on Harmful Chemicals in Products

Consider the following pairs:

Commonly used/consumed materials Unwanted or controversial chemicals likely to be found in them

1. Lipstick — Lead
2. Soft drinks — Brominated vegetable oils
3. Chinese fast food — Monosodium glutamate

Which of the pairs given above is/are correctly matched?

  1. 1 only
  2. 2 and 3 only
  3. 1 and 3 only
  4. 1, 2 and 3
Show answer

Answer: D. 1, 2 and 3

Verdict

The answer is 1, 2 and 3. Lead in lipstick, brominated vegetable oils in soft drinks and monosodium glutamate in Chinese fast food are all correctly paired.

Analysis

Pair 1 is CORRECT. Lead occurs as a common impurity in cosmetic lip products and in other cosmetics such as eye shadows and compact powders. Pair 2 is CORRECT. Brominated vegetable oil is a food additive used to stop citrus flavouring separating out in some sodas and soft drinks, and it is banned as a food additive in Europe and Japan. Pair 3 is CORRECT. Monosodium glutamate, a salt of glutamic acid used as a flavour enhancer, is strongly associated with Chinese style fast food and has been controversial for decades.

Source

Press reporting on cosmetics and food additives.

How to crack it

Reason from what each product needs chemically. A soft drink must keep oil based citrus flavouring suspended in water, which requires a density adjusting additive, and brominated oil does exactly that. A savoury convenience food needs a cheap umami enhancer, which is glutamate. A pigmented cosmetic uses mineral colourants, which carry heavy metal impurities. Function explains the contaminant in each case, so all three pairings become predictable rather than recalled.

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