Keralam launches 'Operation Thelima' to curb reuse of cooking oil; 74 eateries shut
The Keralam Food Safety Department has launched a statewide crackdown on the repeated use of cooking oil, shutting 74 food establishments and seizing and destroying 1,436.4 litres of oil found to be unfit for use, Health Minister K Muraleedharan said on Thursday.
The action was taken during special inspections conducted across all 14 districts on September 29 and 30 under 'Operation Thelima', meaning "purity" in local parlance.
Special squads inspected 1,834 food establishments, with the drive focusing on roadside eateries, tea shops, street food stalls and snack-making units where large quantities of fried food are prepared, Muraleedharan said in a statement.
The inspections found establishments using repeatedly heated or otherwise unfit cooking oil.
The department suspended the operations of 74 establishments for violating food safety standards prescribed by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). Adjudication proceedings under the food safety law were recommended against 19 of them.
The department also issued 147 improvement and rectification notices for deficiencies relating to hygiene, licensing and other food safety practices.
The special squads, comprising food safety officers and other personnel, began inspections from 4 pm, taking into account the peak period for preparation and sale of fried snacks, the minister said.
Total Polar Compounds (TPC) meters and mobile food testing laboratories were deployed to check the quality of cooking oil. Seventy-four oil samples were tested on the spot, allowing officials to take immediate action where violations were detected.
TPC is an indicator of deterioration in cooking oil caused by repeated heating. Under existing food safety standards, oil with TPC above 25 per cent should not be used for preparing food, the statement said.
Repeated heating causes chemical degradation of cooking oil and the formation of polar compounds and other degradation products. Continued consumption of food prepared with severely degraded oil can pose health risks, officials said.
The Food Safety Department has also directed establishments that use large quantities of cooking oil to maintain records of its use and disposal.
Used cooking oil should be handed over to authorised agencies for conversion into biodiesel rather than being repeatedly used for cooking, the department said.
The inspections under 'Operation Thelima' will continue and be expanded to more areas based on complaints received from the public, Muraleedharan said.
"There can be no compromise on issues that endanger people's health in the name of business," he said, adding that stringent legal action would be taken against establishments where violations are confirmed.
