Fried food adulteration set to increase in Ramazan

PFA spokesman says campaign launched against spurious oil manufacturers

LAHORE

Even the month of Ramazan can’t stop the adulterators from using substandard and spurious cooking oil and ghee for frying edibles, endangering buyers' health at risk as majority of Lahorites prefer eating deep-fried edibles at Iftar.

Sale of fried edibles such as samosas, kachorees and pakoras increases manifold in every Ramazan as outlets selling fried food appear on every nook and corner while bakeries and sweet shops also join in.

Sources in Punjab Food Authority (PFA) claimed that several unbranded units located on the outskirts of Lahore use animal waste for preparing oil, which they sell at cheap rates.

They said majority of these units used old containers to store oil, which these factories purchase from scrap dealers. Use of old containers without proper washing was also hazardous because majority of containers were not safe for edible oil storage.

It is also pertinent to mention here that majority of vendors selling fried food repeatedly use their cooking oil, which is also a serious health hazard.

Even some renowned restaurants were caught using rancid oil. PFA had already made it mandatory for restaurants to write down the date and quantity of oil used in fryers but the practice is still underway.

Degradation of cooking oil and ghee during frying or cooking produces harmful compounds, said doctors, adding majority of cooks do not take measures to maintain quality and life of oil.

Dr Rauf, a general practitioner in Shadbagh, said research had already proved that excessive consumption of discarded oil was unhealthy and caused throat and stomach diseases. He said cooking oil or ghee must be discarded after a certain use. He said that tests were available for quick checking of quality of oil and PFA should do this randomly to ensure public health. 

Mustafa Ali, a young chef, said that frying should be a very healthy activity especially in Ramazan and recommended people to use quality cooking oil or ghee for this purpose.

“People visiting restaurants and food spots during Ramazan should also inquire about the freshness of the oil because this is their right to know that what they are eating,” he said, adding preference should be given to homemade food during Ramazan.

Oil quality can also be checked by food sensor, said Hina, a nutritionist, adding this sensor measures change in dielectric constant of cooking oil. She said this device has a major drawback as it accurately works in certain temperature and gives incorrect results if temperature is out of the recommended range. 

Saba Sajid, another nutritionist from Johar Town, said people should use cooking oil/ghee which should be rich in beta-carotene, an antioxidant that improves the body’s immune system, reduces risk of cancer, heart disease and cataracts. 

On the other hand, PFA also intensified its drive against protein extracting units, which are operating on the outskirts of the city and selling substandard and spurious oil to the makeshift sellers of samosas and pakoras who only do this business in Ramazan with a motive to earn maximum profit. In a recent raid, PFA confiscated 14,000kg spurious oil.

When contacted, PFA spokesman Qaiser Abbas said that a campaign had already been started against spurious oil manufacturers. He said vendors selling fried edibles were also being inspected and special attention will be given to this issue during the holy month.

Meanwhile, Punjab Food Authority (PFA) has increased number of its field teams for checking food adulteration across the province during Ramazan.

Officials said during Ramazan PFA teams will work in three shifts during day time, at Sehr and Iftaar. They said during the day, teams will inspect Ramazan bazaars and big markets while at Sehr and Iftaar they will do overall checking.

They said teams would continue checking milk quality. They said a zero-tolerance policy will be adopted during Ramazan and strict punishments will be awarded to the persons involved in food adulteration.

Meanwhile on Friday, a PFA team imposed heavy fine of Rs200,000 on Hotel Ambassador for unhygienic conditions of its kitchen. Shah Jehan hotel and marriage hall was also fined while many other food outlets and manufacturers were fined and warned.