FSSAI amends law to stop reuse of edible oil

AHMEDABAD: A new amendment in the Food Safety and Standards Act (FSSAI) mandates that the total polarized compound (TPC) value in edible oil must be less than 25%. The new amendment to FSSAI will come into effect from July 1. In the run-up to this, FDCA – Gujarat, had recently undertaken a pilot drive to test the TPC value of oil across establishments in Ahmedabad.

Explaining the adverse health impact of reused edible oil, H G Koshia, commissioner, Food and Drug Control Authority – Gujarat, said, “As oil is heated to smoking point, the TPC value of oil increases. This is hazardous to one’s health, especially in the longer run as it increases trans fat content in oil. The new amendment will help us ensure safety of the food prepared outside as well.”

Referring to the finds of the pilot drive, Koshia said, “We found 40% of the commercial establishments and eateries reusing the oil they have already used for frying for cooking, re-frying and other edible purposes. All of these samples had a TPC value that was greater than 25%.”

With regular checks and raids conducted by civic authorities, several cases of reuse of oil in addition to use of adulterated oil also come to the fore. “The number of cases of reuse of oil in the eateries and manufacturing units in the city are way more than those of adulterated oil usage, the latter accounting for merely 7% of the total suspicious samples. However, in absence of evidence, we cannot penalize or take coercive action for those reusing oil. The new amendment will help better enforcement of quality,” said Bhavin Solanki, medical officer of health, AMC.

FDCA – Gujarat has procured a special device to test the TPC value in oil instantly. Authorities believe that the amendment in the act will further enable them to penalize eateries and establishments that reuse edible oil. The move will bring all these businesses under the civic body and state government’s scanner.

Estimates provided by top sources in Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation’s health department indicate that some 80% of establishments be it a farsan store or an eatery or a street food vendor, tend to filter out the oil used for frying and reuse it multiple times.