KUCHING, March 28: Miri City Council (MCC) will impose a new licensing condition where used cooking oil shall not be recycled for cooking purposes.
Its mayor Adam Yii Siew Sang said this was part of the council’s effort to increase awareness on the effects of high-fat food intakes and the method of food preparation used by business operators.
He mentioned that the increasing number of coffee shops, restaurants, and eateries in Miri using the deep-frying method to prepare food had become a significant concern of the community and health practitioners.
“Therefore, MCC would like to extend this effort by enforcing one of the licensing conditions stating that used cooking oil shall not be recycled for cooking and shall be disposed of through a licensed recycling company.
“Proof of proper disposal shall be produced to the council for verification.
“To safeguard consumers’ health, Miri City Council shall fix a limit for Total Polar Compounds (TPC) in edible oil at 25 per cent, beyond which the cooking oil shall not be used,” he said in a statement today.
The TPC refers to all products (compounds) present in frying oil due to the oxidation process (frying), including free fatty acids, low molecular weight decomposition products, and polymerised substances.
At the same time, Yii has urged food eatery operators to sanitise all eating utensils in hot water before serving to customers.
He also reminded that the containers used to hold hot water should be made of metal or porcelain, and plastic containers are not allowed.
“MCC has also made a policy to prohibit the usage of styrofoam containers for food packaging in eateries. Instead, biodegradable paper food containers are encouraged to be used.
“The ban had taken effect from August 25, 2017,” he added. ― DayakDaily
