Repurpose Used Cooking Oil (RUCO)- Regulations Vs Revenue
How do you fancy a hot plate of samosa or pakodas on a rainy evening or a prolonged meeting or, even better, just binge watching your favorite show relaxing on your couch! While the thought can be really alluring, how do you trust the quality of your freshly fried, hot, delectable snack? For all you know, your favorite caterer at the office cafeteria or the street vendor might have prepared your irresistible snacks, freshly fried in the cooking oil used for the tenth or twentieth time that day! Wait, do not despise them so soon, it could be you or me as well, frying the pakodas in the left over cooking oil used for making puris the previous weekend for the breakfast!
Now the key predicaments of the above scenario are- regular consumption of fried foods and repeated use of cooking oil, both of which have severe despicable health implications. While we need to limit the intake of fried foods to shun unnecessary fat deposition, the latter can produce toxic polar compounds, again, having a detrimental effect on our health. What’s worse, the disposal of the left over oils into the drainage can choke them and affect our sewerage system, not to mention the environment at large.
There have been several deliberations to understand the brunt of the cooking oil by our apex ministries of health. And lucky for us, a conjunction was found between the used cooking oil (UCO) and ‘Biofuels’. Biofuels, as defined by National Policy on Biofuels — 2018, are those produced from renewable sources of energy and used instead of/in blend with fossil fuels for different applications. UCO is a potential feedstock for Biofuels, which has been strategically used by Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) to launch their initiative- RUCO (Repurpose Used Cooking Oil). Considering the enormous consumption of vegetable oil in our country, approximately 2446.67 Crore Litres, an availability of 148 Crore Litres of UCO is estimated, which can be redirected for the production of Biofuel.
The primary objective of RUCO, as laid down by FSSAI, is “to divert UCO from Food Value Chains and curb current illegal practices”. The strategies to implement RUCO include creating awareness amongst the masses on the hazards of reusing cooking oil, enforcing the standards for UCO. The total polar compounds (TPC), generated upon repeated use of cooking oils, should not be 25%, beyond which oils are not suitable for use. This has been used as the cut-off mark to regulate the used cooking oil by the Dhabas/small restaurants/food business operators. Beyond this mark, the used cooking oil would be collected by authorized aggregators at a fixed price per litre, which would be then utilized in the production of Biodiesel. RUCO will facilitate ensuring safer food practices and a cleaner environment. It will also promote economic growth by means of minimizing our dependency on the imports for fuel. Additional advantages of RUCO include employment generation and infrastructure development in rural area. Thus, implementation of RUCO is a step towards curbing unfair and unhealthy practices revolving around used cooking oil by means of enforcement of regulations, at the same time, ensuring revenue generation by balancing our Biofuel production and related imports.
As individuals, we can stick to some simple steps to avoid hazards related to UCO. The 4 most important steps include:
1. Avoid reuse of cooking oil
2. In case of large amounts, filter the oil and use it for the preparation of curries
3. Reuse the oil within 2–3 days
4. Do not discard the UCO in the kitchen sink drain; nor should it be in the trash can directly. Cool the oil, adsorb it onto kitchen towel/saw dust/sand or collect it in a disposable container and discard it in the dry trash can.
These small but significant steps add up to a healthy and clean environment.
