The Food Safety Commissionerate will from March issue notices or close down eateries found cooking with resued oil.
Food inspectors will make surprise inspections of all restaurants, from hole-in the-wall eateries to cafés in star hotels, and invoke the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, against establishments that fail to comply with the rule.
“Reused oil is one of the biggest food safety scandals,” said food safety commissioner Kumar Jayant. “It is a matter of serious concern because it is a public health issue. Eating food cooked with second-hand oil can cause various problems and lead to cancer.”
“We want to ensure that food fried in reused oil does not find its way to a customer’s plate at any eatery. Under the Food Safety Act, it is illegal to sell products fried in reused oil.”
The Food Safety Commissionerate will over the next two months organize awareness programmes for its staff and restaurant owners. The commissionerate wants to ensure hoteliers get the message that the rule is “non negotiable”.
“If people cannot afford to use fresh oil, they will not be allowed to sell food,” Jayant said.
Food inspectors will also be trained to suggest other uses for used oil. For instance, they will ask restaurants to use oil that has been used for frying once to sauté vegetables or make dosas or omelettes.
However, industry experts say it may not be that easy to enforce the rule. Big hotels and restaurants may find a way to avoid reuse, but it will be hard to prevent smaller vendors from breaking the rule because it will not be economically viable for them to use only fresh oil.
SAFE WAYS TO USE OIL
Filter out food particles if you have to reuse oil once
Don’t mix different types of cooking oil
Keep the oil in a cool, dark place, preferably in a nonmetal container
Some oils, like olive oil, can’t be used for frying
When the oil is stale, it appears darker and thicker Dirty hotels in hot water Food Safety Dept To Check Hygiene, Bring Unclean Eateries To Book Despite HC Stay On Taking Samples
For several months, the food safety commissionerate in the state hasn’t carried out one of its primary duties – taking samples for testing. The Madras high court has issued a stay on sampling after a few hoteliers and vendors moved it against the stringent rules.
Now, the commissionerate has decided to crack the whip, even without taking samples. The commissionerate is training food inspectors to look for five main violations when they inspect hotels, restaurants, street food shops and eateries: personal hygiene of food handlers, hygiene of the place and utensils used for cooking, storage methods for perishables, source of ingredients, and water used for cooking and cleaning.
“If these aren’t good, the food they serve can never be hygienic. We will be able to initiate action even without picking up samples,” said food safety commissioner Kumar Jayant.
The Food Safety and Standards Act replaced the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act in August 2011. A separate cadre of inspectors was established to ensure food safety. Under the new act, the penalty for the maker of adulterated food items was in the range of Rs 1 lakh to Rs 10 lakh. The case will be adjudicated by an officer of the rank of sub-divisional magistrate. Under the new rule, the commissionerate did not have to wait for years for courts to pronounce judgments in the cases they file. If there is enough evidence, it can impose fines or cancel trade licenses.
Several hoteliers moved the court as they found the rules too stringent. The court ordered status quo until it gives the judgment. The state has 1,45,754 registered (with less than Rs 1 lakh turnover) eateries and 18,869 licensed eateries (medium and big).
In 2012, a study by the Indian Public Health Association found E coli bacteria on the hands of 11.2% of the people who handled food in five star hotels. In smaller restaurants, 47% of cooks and waiters had the bacterium, which can cause serious food poisoning, on their hands. The figure rises to 84.7% at roadside eateries. *Researchers found amoebic cysts on the hands of 11.2% of waiters at roadside eateries.
Former director of public health Dr S Elango said food handlers’ hygiene and water used for cooking and cleaning are vital. “Lack of hygiene can lead to an outbreak of acute gastritis,” he said. HOT POT 1 When oil is overheated, it deteriorates chemically, creating hydroperoxides and increasing toxic compounds such as aldehydes. When oil is heated it releases free radicals, which can cause cancer 2 Smoke point,
at which oil begins to smoke, is the breakup point after which toxins are released. Vegetable oils have higher smoke points than butter or ghee. Smoke point drops every time oil is reheated 3 Nutritionists advise people
not use any oil more than twice for frying. Oil that has been used for frying can be used to sauté or season without preserving it for long
Times View
For the average Chennaite, eating out is no longer a weekend event. Working spouses and double incomes have meant families eat out for leisure and convenience. Studies have found that several of the city’s eateries – high-end restaurants as well as roadside stalls – dish out food contaminated by the diseasecausing E coli bacteria. The corporation’s health department and the food safety department are not equipped to handle the more than 1.5 lakh commercially-run kitchens, 85% of which are small businesses. The departments should be empowered with more resources and a free hand to conduct regular checks and impose stringent punishment on those dishing out substandard food.
Reheating oil lets out toxic chemicals
RMurugesan, who runs a small snack stall in Nandanam, said he reuses oil to keep his overheads low. “At least half a litre of oil is left in the pan at the end of the day. I can’t throw it away because a litre of oil costs Rs 100,” he said.Studies have shown that when oil is reheated, it produces cancer-causing ch e m i c a l s. Nutritionist Bhuvaneshwari Shankar of Apollo Hospitals said oil has a temperature at which it begins to smoke. “When the smoke point drops, oil releases toxic chemicals,” she said. Some oils are better for high-heat cooking than others. Vegetable oils have higher smoke points than butter or ghee. Refined oil has fewer impurities and hence higher smoke point. Government General Hospital doctors say use of reheated oil could explain the increase in stomach cancer. In a pilot study, they found 70% of cancer patients used reheated oil.
Most said they ate dried fish or meat fried in reused oil every day. “Dried fish has high salt content and is fried in reused oil. In the initial stages in leads to gastritis and later, cancer,” said gastroenterologist Dr S M Chandramohan, who was part of the study.
More than half the patients snacked on bajjis fried in reused oil. The research has won acclaim from Indian Association of Surgical Gastroenterology and International Gastric Cancer Association. The department is doing a detailed study on the links between stomach cancer and reused oil.
FEELING THE HEAT
Rotten veggies, old oil, seized from retail chain
Chennai: Acting on a complaint about food adulteration , food safety department officials on Tuesday raided a popular retail chain and seized substandard food products. District food safety officer S Lakshmi Narayan said the team carried out the raid in Reliance Fresh in Royapuram. “We had received several complaints about the shop selling substandard food products,” he said.
Food safety officials urged consumers to check packaged products for the batch number and expiry date. “They should also check products that come free with others. We found that they were giving substandard products free along with other products. We have seized 18 food products and 271kg of food grains from the shop,” said Narayan.
He said refined oil, biscuits, fruit and vegetables, and butter were seized. Officials said they would send samples of the items to King Institute
Of Preventive Medicine in Guindy for tests. “We have issued a notice to the retailer for selling substandard products,” the officer said.
Officials said they had decided to intensify raids on shops across the city. “Necessary action will be taken against the violators under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006,” he said. Consumers can make complaints by calling 23813095 or e-mailing commrfssa@gmail.com.
WHEN
THE SMOKE POINT OF OIL DROPS WITH EACH REUSE, THE OIL SMOKES FASTER AND RELEASES TOXIC CHEMICALS
Bhuvaneshwari Shankar
| Nutritionist
FOOD WITH
HIGH SALT CONTENT FRIED IN OIL REUSED SEVERAL TIMES LEADS TO GASTRITIS INITIALLY. IN THE LONG TERM, IT CAUSES CANCER
Dr S M Chandramohan |
Gastroenterologist
IF BASIC
HYGIENE IS LACKING, THE FOOD SERVED IN EATERIES CANNOT BE HYGIENIC. WE WILL INITIATE ACTION EVEN WITHOUT PICKING UP SAMPLES
Kumar Jayant |Food
Safety Commissioner
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