FSSAI introduces restriction on eatery owners from using same batch of cooking oil more than thrice

In order to curb the consumption of 'frying fats', the FSSAI and the FDA have brought in a restriction for eatery owners prohibiting them from using the same batch of edible/cooking oil more than thrice.

March 1 has been set as the deadline for eatery owners to adhere to the new guidelines 

Mumbai: The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is all set to impose a new rule on eateries and restaurants which will prohibit them from cooking more than three times with the same batch of cooking oil. The central body has sent notices to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) departments of all states asking them to ensure that the practice is implemented by March 1.

In its notice, the FSSAI has asked FDA to ensure that the new rule is imposed and adhered to by restaurant and eatery owners before the stipulated deadline. This rule will apply for all eateries and restaurants using more than 50 litres of oil per day. The rule has been brought into effect as per Section 16 (5) of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.

The FSSAI also said that starting March 1, it will conduct inspections across the country to ensure that the rule is being adhered to by eatery and restaurant owners. These owners have been asked to prepare and maintain a daily chart recording their daily consumption of oil in addition to keeping a log of their purchase of edible oils.

Pallavi Dadare, commissioner of FDA (Maharashtra division) told media outlets that repeated use of cooking oil leads to changes in the physiochemical, nutritional and sensory properties. Total polar compounds (TPCs) formed in the oil during frying are called 'frying fats' and the rule is aimed at curbing the consumption of these 'frying fats'.

Kochi: Stale food seized from eateries

KOCHI: The health officials of Tripunithura municipality conducted raids in three leading hotels in the town on Tuesday.

The stale food seized from these restaurants – dishes of meat, fish and egg – were displayed at the reception of the municipal office along with the name tag of eateries.

Officials of the food safety department had earlier conducted a raid at a prominent juice chain in Tripunithura following complaints by customers who were given stale pani puri. A woman who ate pani puri from the outlet on Saturday had vomited immediately. Aluva food safety officer V Shanmukhan rushed to the eatery after they complained to the state food safety commissioner. “We have sent the food samples to Kakkanad lab for analysis. After getting a detailed lab report, we will take stringent action against the outlet,” the food safety officer said.

The raid by municipal health officials on Tuesday was carried out to ensure food safety in eateries.

Food safety officials in the district on Tuesday conducted inspections in shops and food-processing centres in select panchayats. Raids were also conducted in bar hotels and restaurants and tankers transporting drinking water.

Food safety nodal officer for the district said around 110 inspections were carried out by the department on Tuesday. The inspections were carried out in Varapuzha and Payipra, which are among 11 panchayats selected in the district as food safety panchayats.

Food safety officer for Muvattupuzha said they mostly checked licences of eateries.

“We have issued around 50 notices across the district following this,” said a department official.

The department would also conduct food safety awareness programmes in the 11 selected panchayats from Friday. The process of making these panchayats safe for food consumption would be complete by March 31.

The department officials in association with the excise department also conducted raids in select bar hotels in the district. This is following a directive from the excise commissioner asking for joint raids to ensure quality of food served in bar hotels.

The officials also conducted inspection of water tankers to ensure safety of drinking water supplied to apartments and regions with water scarcity. “All the tanker lorries that we inspected had proper licence. We have collected water samples and we would take action if they are found to be filthy,” an official said.

Food watchdog FDA to ensure Mumbai restaurants do not keep reusing stale oil

From next month, the food watchdog will scrutinise restaurant records to check whether they are re-using stale oil beyond the permissible limit

Reusing oil too many times can lead to severe health issues. 

Soon citizens won't have worry whether their French fries or bhajias were cooked in stale oil. Come March 1, restaurants and eateries will find it hard to keep re-using stale oil, with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) carefully watching their oil consumption.

Re-using oil can cause severe health issues like high cholesterol, blood pressure and liver issues. The new rules of Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) now prohibit cooking more than three times with the same oil. To ensure that the rule is followed, eateries will be required to keep a log of their purchase and use of edible oils from March 1. The FSSAI has directed all Food and Drug Administrations (FDA) across the country to notify restaurants using more than 50 litres of oil per day to maintain a daily chart.

As per the Food Safety and Standards (Licensing and Registration) First Amendment Regulations, 2017, use of edible oils more than three times is forbidden, as it leads to severe health consequences. "Repeated usage of cooking oil leads to changes in the physiochemical, nutritional and sensory properties which cause severe health issues. During frying, total polar compounds or TPCs are formed in the oil, which are also called frying fats. The regulation has been introduced to stop this," said Pallavi Dadare, commissioner of FDA (Maharashtra).

As per the new rules, the TPC limit is 25 percent, beyond which the oil is not suitable for use. "To ensure that such used cooking oil is neither directly used in the food preparation nor reentered into the food chain, it has been decided that all Food Business Operators whose consumption of edible oils for frying is more than 50 litres per day, shall maintain the records and dispose used cooking oil to agencies authorised by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India or Commissioner of Food Safety of States/UTs from time to time," reads the notification sent by FSSAI.

Restaurants will have to submit data such as name of the oil, quantity of oil taken for frying, quantity discarded at the end of the day, date and mode of disposal and which agency the oil was handed over to. "Overuse of edible oils can lead to health issues like high cholesterol, blood pressure and liver issues. It is always advisable not to use same cooking oil on a regular basis. This accountability can help to control this habit in hotels," said Dr Saurav Mehta, a general physician.

‘Obesity rate doubled in State in 10 years’

Lack of nutritious food or unhealthy eating habits, both seem to have a major impact on the population of Jharkhand. Sharing data on obesity and malnutrition in State, Deepika Anand, nutritionist at World Bank, informed obesity and overweight has doubled in both men and women in a decade.

Comparing the data of National Family Health Survey (NFHS) 3 conducted in 2005-06 and NFHS 4 conducted in 2015-16, she said, “When in 2005-06, 4.9 per cent men and 5.4 per cent women were overweight, it has increased to 11.1 and 10.3 per cent respectively in 2015-16.”

She also shared non communicable diseases like diabetes, hypertension and heart problems are responsible for 48 per cent of total disease burden of the State and cardiovascular diseases are among top 10 leading cause of death in the State for people above 40 years of age.

At the same time under nutrition indicators in the State also show that underweight children and anemia among the population in general is a major problem in Jharkhand.

“Anemia among women in Jharkhand is 65.2 per cent, which is much higher than the national average of 53 per cent. However, a more shocking indicator is anemia among men, which is 29.9 per cent in State, as compared to 22.7 per cent in the country,” Anand said.

As far as children under the age of five is considered, 45.3 per cent children are stunted (low height for age) in Jharkhand as compared to 38.4 per cent in country, 29 per cent are wasted (low weight for height) against 21 per cent in country and 47.8 per cent children are underweight against the average of 35.7 per cent at national level.

A programme organised by Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) and World Bank in the city on Wednesday focused on the Eat Right India Movement in order to prevent the citizens from falling prey to malnourishment, overweight or other health issues caused by unhealthy eating habits.

The Swasth Bharat Yatra to spread the message of Eat Right Movement was flagged off from six districts across country, including Ranchi on October 16, 2018 and culminated at New Delhi on January 27, 2019.

Anand said, “Now that the yatra is over, we are aiming to spread the message of healthy eating through awareness programmes like these. Our three focus areas are eat healthy, eat safe and eat fortified.”

She pointed out that the largest increase in the disease burden from 1990 to 2016 was observed for diabetes with a growth of 80 percent.

“Of the total disease burden, 1/10th was caused by a group of risks including unhealthy diet, high blood pressure, high blood sugar, high cholesterol and overweight,” she said.

The data further showed that the per capita consumption of sugar has risen from 22 gm/day in 2000 to 55.3 gm/day in 2010. Likewise, salt consumption ranges from 9 to 12 gm per capita per day which is twice the recommended dietary intake of 5 gm/day by World Health Organization.

The programme focused on reduction of health risks by eating healthy. Some of the major tips shared included gradual reduction of oil in daily diet, tracking the consumption of oil in the home on monthly basis, measuring cooking oil with spoon rather than pouring directly from bottle, avoiding reheating the oil, choosing lean meat over red meat among many others.

Anand said, “Follow 7Cs, check for spoilage, clean hands and food, cover food, cook properly, control temperature, consume food hygienically and avoid cross contamination in order to provide food contamination.”