FSSAI tool can now detect repeated use of cooking oil
Food regulator developed a repurpose used cooking oil (RUCO) traceability app to check repeated frying of food items beyond the safety limits
image for illustrative purpose
The collection and conversion of used cooking oil into biodiesel under the RUCO initiative began in the Perambalur district Kerala in July 2021
New Delhi: The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has developed a repurpose used cooking oil (RUCO) traceability application to check repeated frying of food items beyond the safety limits.
To maintain the quality of cooking vegetable oil in repeated frying, the Food Safety and Standards (Licensing and Registration of Food Businesses) First Amendment Regulation-2017, prescribed the limit for total polar compounds (TPCs) at a maximum of 25 per cent. Beyond that, the vegetable oil is not suitable for use.
Subsequently, the FSSAI issued the guidelines for the collection of used cooking oil (UCO) by biodiesel manufacturers from good business operators (FBOs) in May 2019. The guidelines stipulated that the FBOs whose consumption of edible oil for frying is more than 50 liters per day would maintain the usage record and would dispose of UCO to agencies authorized by the FSSAI or the Commissioners of Food Safety in States and Union Territories.
In order to streamline the RUCO initiative and to promote ease of doing business (EoDB), the FSSAI has developed the RUCO traceability application, official sources told Bizz Buzz. The application is designed to track the whole RUCO ecosystem, generate UCO disposal requests, enroll NFP units, recognize aggregators requested by NFP units, monitor transactions, and generate data and reports on a real-time basis.
The traceability application is available on the RUCO website and can be accessed. It provides the log-in facility for FBOs, UCO aggregators, and non-food product (NFP) units. The user manuals and tutorial videos are also available on the RUCO website. The traceability application will be made live from March 1. The collection and conversion of used cooking oil into biodiesel under the RUCO initiative began in the Perambalur district Kerala in July 2021.
However, all FBOs are not complying with the FSSAI’s RUCO initiative. FSSAI officials reportedly carried out 150 surprise inspections at many hotels, eateries, etc., across Andhra Pradesh last month. They found 10 cases of non-compliance.
FSSAI officials believe that the RUCO traceability application would improve compliance.
