Food Safety and Standards Authority of India will be soon putting a scanner on the repeated use of cooking oil for frying which is a very common practice across the country. Despite knowing that this practice is hazardous to consumers’ health, many companies and restaurant do indulge themselves in this practice.
FSSAI, in its recent gazette notification, has ruled the standards relating to total polar compound (TPC) in cooking oil. Called the Food Safety and Standards (Licensing and Registration of Food Businesses) First Amendment Regulations, 2017, they will come into force from July 1, 2018.
The said standards have been finalised after taking into consideration the comments of stakeholders. FSSAI (Food Safety and Standards Authority of India) has noted that the repeated use of the same oil for frying leads to changes in the physiochemical, nutritional and sensory properties of edible oil. Keeping this in view, the quality of the oil must be monitored to avoid the use of degraded oil for cooking purposes.
At present, the regulations consist of only general provisions to avoid the reheating and reusing of cooking oil, which should be avoided. According to the notification, under the Food Safety and Standards (Licensing and Registration of Food Businesses) Regulations, 2011, in Schedule 4, in Part-V, under the clause relating to fried foods, a regulation stating that vegetable oil having developed TPC in excess of 25 per cent shall not be used will be added.
Expressing his view on FSSAI’s move, Umesh Verma, spokesperson, Puri Oil Mills Limited, promoter of P Mark mustard oil, said, “With this move, the apex regulator will be able to monitor the oil quality as it wants to ensure that a quality experience is provided to the consumers at large and maintain international-level quality standards.”
Commenting on the benefits of using various edible oils, he added, “Each edible oil has some particular fatty acids which are beneficial to human beings. Trying different edible oils will introduce us to a variety of beneficial fatty acids. As a result, doctors recommend rotating edible oils at regular intervals at home.”
“For instance, Omega 3 fatty acid is only found in mustard, rapeseed, flaxseed oil and soybean oil. So if a person consumes only olive oil, he/she is devoid of the benefits of Omega 3 with his/her edible oil intake,” Verma said.
The problem with reusing edible oil is that it can create free radicals which cause health problems in the long run.