As per the Guidelines in Food Safety and Standards (Licensing and Registration of Food Businesses) Regulations, 2011, reusing and reheating of oil should be avoided and in no case, it should be done more than three times.
FSSAI observed that unused oil is either not discarded at all or disposed of in an environmentally hazardous manner choking drains and sewerage systems. It is also reported that oil discarded from organised Food Business Operators (FBO) is used by small restaurants/dhabas and roadside vendors. Therefore, FSSAI has issued Guidance note for FBO and household users for proper handling and disposal of used oil.
Important guidelines provided are:
i) Avoid reusing oil (Maximum three times). For reuse, it must be filtered frequently to remove food particles.
ii) Used oil should be disposed when blue-grey smoke appears or tough foam gets formed or oil becomes dark and murky or the consistency of oil changes.
iii) Discarded oil should not be disposed in drains/sewerage systems. Disposal should be in an environment friendly way preferably by providing it to the authorized UCO aggregators/collection agencies.
iv) Used oil should be stored away from flame, gas cylinders etc.
v) FBOs should refrain from buying Used Oil.
For Big FBOs, additional points have been provided:
i) To determine the quality of used oil, total polar compounds have to be measured. Oil with Total Polar Compounds beyond 25% to be treated as hazardous waste and to be discarded.
ii) Discarded oil should be kept in a separate container with label once it is cooled, keeping headspace while filling. It must be kept away from flame,
gas cylinders etc.
iii) All Food Business Operators should train their staff responsible for handling and disposal of used cooking oil.
iv) All FBOs whose consumption of edible oils for frying is more than 50 Kg or litres per day shall maintain records in the format prescribed in the Guidance note.
Click here for Guidance Note on handling and disposal of used cooking oil
