UCO (Used Cooking Oil) is one of the biggest perpetrators of making the Indian population ill.
Let’s assume that uneducated people consuming used cooking oil are unaware of the consequences of UCO, but what about the literate people who consume it almost daily. From lunchtime meals to tea snacks and after-office snacks, everything you consume gets cooked in used cooking oil. Now imagine the damages UCO has been doing to your body. Scary? But what do we do about it? Nothing. We end up going to the same restaurant and eating the same food.
The cycle of edible oil is quite prolonged. The big restaurants use edible oil in an enormous amount, and once they are done cooking, they tend to sell that batch of oil to street vendors and small restaurants. And they use the same batch of oil till it becomes rancid. Then they discard the used cooking oil in the sewage. The menacing blend of unawareness and greed is putting the nation’s health at risk. You might have noticed an unusual taste in your food, but you might have turned a blind eye. You will be surprised to know that the unusual taste and smell of the food come from stale oil. A food item that is cooked in used cooking oil often smells bad and tastes weird.
If you see a street vendor using used cooking oil, what are you supposed to do?
Inform and warn them – First, educate them about how harmful it is for humans as well as nature. You can tell them about us and how we buy used cooking oil for the production of biofuels. Encourage the vendors to take sustainable steps.
Legal actions – If vendors threaten you or resist to stop using used cooking oil. You can take pictures of them, a picture of their store, a picture of the oil, and you can tweet directly to the FSSAI (Food Safety and Standard Authority of India). If you want to take strict action, you can call the police and lodge a complaint against them. The food seller can be jailed for risking other’s health under Food safety law, Section 272 of IPC for Adulteration of Food or drink intended for sale, Section 273 of IPC for Sale of Noxious Food or Drink, Section 55 of FSSAI, 2006.
Simultaneously, you can inform FSSAI through their social media handles.
For more information chat with us 917304745554
