Kochi : In the wake of complaints that many eateries and hotels reuse cooking oil in violation of the stipulations set by Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), the food safety department in Ernakulam conducted a special drive on Tuesday and found violations at many eateries.
As much as 71 litres of used oil was found during the inspection. The used oil with total polar compounds (TPC) exceeding 25% was removed. As set by FSSAI, TPC in the cooking oil should not exceed 25%. A total of 83 inspections were carried out on Tuesday under Operation Thelima following the direction of Commissionerate of Food Safety to ensure the eateries do not reuse cooking oil for frying snacks and other items. They also found violations of Schedule 4 of Food Safety and Standards (Licensing and Registration of Food Businesses) Regulations, 2011, on good manufacturing practices and hygiene. Steps have been initiated to close two shops; surveillance samples of reused cooking oil were collected to test quality, and a fine was imposed on 22 other firms.
It was also found that some eateries were using newspapers to wrap and handle food items. Rectification notices were issued to many hotels and eateries.