Restaurants can no longer reuse cooking oil: FSSAI

01/5​FSSAI’s new rule for restaurants on cooking oil

All the restaurants, dhabas and hotels who had been cutting down the expenses by reusing the cooking oil for frying purpose have a piece of bad news! Come March 1 and the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) will impose a new rule on them. According to the latest circular by FSSAI, all food business operators whose consumption of edible oil for frying is more than 50 litres per day are liable to maintain the records and dispose of used cooking oil to agencies authorized by FSSAI from time to time. The rule has been brought into effect as per Section 16 (5) of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.

02/5Three use limit

This new rule will prohibit them from using the same cooking oil for more than three times. It has been found that reusing such oil is bad for human heart and body. Doctors across the globe have agreed to its harmful effects and that is the reason FSSAI has decided to implement this new rule.

03/5Redefines TPC limit

The new circular has also set the maximum permissible limit of Total Polar Compound (TPC) in edible oil at 25 per cent. Repeated frying and usage of edible oil changes its physiochemical and nutrition properties and leads to the formation of TPC, which makes it unfit for human consumption.

04/5 FSSAI guidelines

According to the official website of FSSAI, there are certain rules that one must follow while using Used Cooking Oil (UCO). It suggests that the oil used for frying foods should be filtered and may be used for making curry preparations. It should not be used for frying purpose again. Also, UCO should be disposed of when blue-grey smoke appears or tough foam gets formed. It also suggests that UCO should be consumed within 1-2 days. Storing it for a longer period can be harmful, as the rate of deterioration is higher in used oil.

05/5Verdict

It is a step towards improving the health conditions of people in the country. The idea is to eradicate the practice of reusing the oil and understanding its harmful effects. This rule is not just for the commercial entities; even the households should avoid reusing the cooking oil for a healthy body.

Illegal packaged drinking water unit sealed in Dindigul

Dindigul: Officials from the food safety department in Dindigul district have unearthed an illegal packaged drinking water unit functioning near Oddanchatram.

A team led by designated officer for food safety of Dindigul district Dr K Natarajan sealed the unit functioning in Dharapuram Road on Thursday.

Sreenivasa Water Supply company, which was supplying 20-litre bubble top water cans to commercial establishments and residential houses, under the brand name Kushi Aqua came to the notice of the food safety officials recently. The officials disconnected electrical connection to the unit and sealed it after monitoring its activities.

Natarajan said that although there was a reverse osmosis (RO) facility in the unit it was not a registered under the Food Safety and Standards Act and there was no clearance from the public works department (PWD) and certification from BIS, which are mandatory to run a packaged drinking water company. 

A legal packaged drinking water company has to test the water on a regular basis in the in-house lab and periodical tests in an external lab to ensure the quality of water.

Natarajan said the unit was functioning secretly at nights to avoid the attention of food safety department officials. There was not even a concrete structure. The proprietor also involved in fraudulent activities as he procured bubble top bottles of other ISI registered companies and used it for distribution. The proprietor has to face the legal consequences, he added.

Inferior quality pickle destroyed

Jaipur: It required 15 rounds of a pick-up truck for transporting raw material for preparing pickles and sauces for destroying as it was found not fit for human consumption.

The health department’s food safety wing officers reached RIICO area where they had seized a pickles and sauce manufacturing unit in which 23,000 kg of pulp and pickles were stored.