DINAKARAN NEWS

DINAKARAN NEWS

There’s a limit for oil reheating!

Can be reused until it reaches maximum TPC limit of 25%.

The new quality standard is meant for the commercial sector where continuous reheating of oil is common and not for the domestic sector.

KOCHI: The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has issued new standards for the reuse of cooking oil in frying and other uses. The Food Safety and Standards (Licensing and Registration of Food Businesses) First Amendment Regulation, 2017 published in the official gazette prescribes vegetable oil can be reused until it reaches a maximum Total Polar Compound (TPC) limit of 25 per cent. The TPC of unheated oil is 6 to 7 per cent which will start to increase when it reaches the temperature of 50 to 60 degree Celsius. TPC is considered as the accurate indicator of quality of the frying oil and can be checked through a lab test.

The new quality standard is meant for the commercial sector where continuous reheating of oil is common and not for the domestic sector. Different kinds of degradation happen to oil when it is heated to high temperature – 150 to 18 degree Celsius – for frying. Equipment is available to check the TPC value which is being rarely used by big companies. Any edible oil used for frying that crosses the maximum limit of 25 per cent TPC will be considered unsafe. The new quality standards will come into force by July 1, this year.

Till now, there were only general provisions in the FSSAI rule to prevent reuse of cooking oil. The general recommendation was that re-heating and reuse of oil should be avoided as far as possible and also using leftover oil wherever possible. With the enforcement of the new regulation, Food Safety officials can easily check the quality of cooking oil. Repeated reheating will lead to changes in physiochemical, nutritional and sensory properties of edible oil and hence it is important to monitor quality of oil to avoid the use of degraded oil for cooking, according to the FSSAI notification.

“We are yet to get the official communication only after which we can initiate measures to this effect,” said K.V Shibu, assistant Food Safety commissioner. Meanwhile, natural formulation preservatives are now available which helps in slowing down the oxidative degradation due to reuse, thus keeping the oil safe. Arjuna Natural Extracts Limited has developed a preservative which will maintain vegetable oil colour, taste, and functionality even in high temperatures.

Food safety licence fee can be paid online

CHENNAI: Food vendors, restaurants and traders, who wanted to obtain food safety licence or registration, can remit the fee for the purpose online.

In a statement here on Thursday, Chennai district collector V Anbuselvan said a facility has been provided for the food traders to make their payments for receiving food safety licence or registration through online.

While people engaged in food trade with an annual turnover of less than Rs 12 lakh must pay a fee of Rs 100 for registration, those falling above the annual turnover bracket of Rs 12 lakh should get food safety license by paying a fee Rs 2,000 and Rs 3,000 depending on the category of the eateries.

Registrations and licence for those involved in food trade including tea shops, restaurants, star category hotels, all kind of eateries and food manufacturers has been mandated under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.

Khajrana laddoos have excess colour

The team collected samples from Bhamori area on Wednesday

INDORE: The food department on Wednesday collected samples of sweets from Khajrana Ganesh temple and test them in a mobile laboratory van. Over 50 per cent of samples have food colours in excess.

"During the drive, we collected 33 samples of 'Laddu' to test quality in a mobile laboratory van. In around 20 samples, food colours was found in excess," food safety officer Manish Swami told TOI.

He said that the shopkeepers have been warned that they should follow Food Safety and Standards Authority Of India (FSSAI) guidelines which allow maximum limits of synthetic colours as 100 parts per million of the final food or beverage for consumption.

During the drive, a chaos witnessed among the shopkeepers and devotees.

State government had sent the mobile lab along with a team comprised a food analyst and some chemists to coordinate with the local team to check food products in its three days of stay here. In last three days, the local officials carried out on the spot testing of foods being served across the city including at '56 Dukan' and Bengali Square area.

"On the last day of three-day long drive, we collected samples of ghee, mawa, paneer and sweets from Bhamori area," the officer said.

Food safety officials said the local office has a similar mobile laboratory van but due to some technical faults, it's not in use now.

Food safety dept's special team to monitor Ajinomoto use in restaurants

Palakkad: The food safety department will soon deploy a special team to examine use of Monosodium Glutamate or MSG (Ajinomoto) in restaurant. The team will function under the mobile vigilance squad of the food safety department. District Food Safety Assistant Ccommissioners will be in charge of the team in each district.

It is mandatory for the restaurants and bakeries to display the declaration for the information of customers saying that the restaurant uses Monosodium Glutamate (Ajinomoto) in the food items shown below and therefore, these food items are not advisable for children. 

The special team will examine whether every restaurants or bakeries display this declaration or violate the rule. Strict action will be taken against the restaurants and bakeries which violate the rule.

Earlier, the food safety officials had charged a penalty upto Rs 2 lakh and cancelled licence of the bakeries and restaurants for violating this rule. With the use of MSG becoming more rampant, the authorities are planning to impose higher penalties for violation.

The US Food and Drug Administration has listed ajinomoto in the list of relatively safe products to consume. Meanwhile, health department officials warned that the use of ajinomoto will affect the brain development of children in the age group 1 to 5 years. It has reported that some people will have allergic reactions like mouth ulcers and swelling after consuming ajinomoto.

28 madrassa students suffer food poisoning

Twenty-eight students of a madrassa in Bhiwandi were hospitalised for food poisoning after they ate biryani served at a local function in Roshan Bagh on Wednesday. According to officials with the Bhiwandi Nizampura Municipal Corporation, the students study Urdu and Arabic in the madrassa. Officials said that they were invited for a Niyaaz ceremony, an Islamic custom where food is served to the underprivileged. The students were taken to a primary health care centre after complaining of nausea.