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Karnataka cracks down on used cooking oil ahead of Ganesha festival to promote safer food practices: Report
Karnataka's food safety authority mandated hotels and bakeries to cease reusing cooking oil, directing them to hand over used oil to RUCO agencies.
Karnataka’s food safety authority has ordered all hotels and bakeries to stop reusing used cooking oil for food preparation. Instead, they must give their used oil to RUCO (Repurpose Used Cooking Oil) agencies, which convert it into biodiesel and soap.
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This action comes after a sharp drop in used cooking oil collected for recycling: only about 1,50,000 litres are now gathered monthly, down from 2,30,000 litres last year, according to a report from The Times of India. In the last four months, just over 6,00,000 litres have been collected. Officials are worried that, with the Ganesha festival approaching, some of this oil may be sold to street vendors or small eateries rather than being recycled properly.
Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao stressed that the supply of used oil to RUCO should increase, not decrease, to improve food quality and reduce harmful trans fats in meals. The food department has asked all hotels to strictly hand over their used oil to RUCO agencies, preventing it from being reused in kitchens, said the report.
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Dushyant Patel from Pyrene Industries (a RUCO facility) spoke to the publication and noted that some restaurants still sell their used oil at a discount instead of surrendering it, despite rules limiting reuse. Sometimes, used oil even finds its way into freshly produced oil.
GK Shetty, representing the hotel association, said hotels use 5–15 litres of oil daily. They get ₹65 – ₹75 per litre for used oil from RUCO, while fresh oil costs ₹125 – ₹140 per litre, he said, as quoted by the publication. However, some places still reuse oil to cut costs. Used oil collection typically increases during festivals.
