An Ernakulam food safety drive found 71 litres of reused cooking oil with total polar compounds (TPC) above the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India’s permitted limit, prompting fines, notices and steps to close two eateries.
The inspections were conducted on Tuesday under Operation Thelima, following directions from the Commissionerate of Food Safety to check whether hotels and eateries were reusing cooking oil for frying snacks and other food items. Food safety officials carried out 83 inspections across Ernakulam.
The department removed the used oil after finding that its TPC level exceeded 25 per cent. FSSAI standards prescribe that TPC in cooking oil should not exceed 25 per cent. TPC is used to assess the deterioration of oil after repeated heating and reuse.
The inspection also identified breaches of Schedule 4 of the Food Safety and Standards (Licensing and Registration of Food Businesses) Regulations, 2011. These provisions cover good manufacturing practices and hygiene requirements for food businesses.
Officials found that some eateries were using newspapers to wrap and handle food items. Rectification notices were issued to several hotels and eateries, requiring them to address the identified violations. Fines were imposed on 22 other firms.
The department has initiated steps to close two shops. It also collected surveillance samples of reused cooking oil for quality testing. The inspections continued on Wednesday, according to the report.
The action follows complaints that several eateries and hotels were reusing cooking oil in violation of food-safety requirements. The findings place enforcement attention on a practice that is difficult for consumers to assess at the point of purchase, while also highlighting hygiene conditions inside food establishments.
The operation’s next steps are the testing of collected oil samples, action on rectification notices, and proceedings related to the two proposed closures. Further inspections are continuing in Ernakulam.
