58pc oil at Rajshahi restaurants unhygienic

Around 58 percent of edible oil used in various hotels and restaurants in Rajshahi is harmful to human health, reveals a new report from the Bangladesh Food Safety Authority.

 The national food safety regulatory agency prepared the report after testing food and oil used in thirty-eight hotels and restaurants in the Rajshahi metropolitan area and in Puthia and Godagari upazilas in the past month.

According to the analysis, edible oil from fifteen of the twenty-two hotels and restaurants under the metropolitan area and seven out of sixteen hotels and restaurants in Puthia and Godagari upazilas contained an excessive amount (above 24 percent) of polar compounds -- harmful substances that are formed due to reusing edible oils over and over again.

Besides, the agency also found various harmful microorganisms by testing the chopping and serving tables of some of the hotels and restaurants.

"We have seized and destroyed edible oil containers that had excessive amounts of polar compounds," said Md Yeamin Hossain, food safety officer of the Bangladesh Food Safety Authority Rajshahi office.

He said that they were not imposing fines on the hotels and the restaurants for now but are making them aware so that they use fresh oils daily.

Prof Mahbubur Rahman Khan, head of Rajshahi Medical College's medicine department, said consuming foods prepared with edible oils that contain excessive amounts of polar compounds is very harmful to human health.

"They can cause inflammation, resulting in ulcers and stomach cancer. Besides, it can cause liver and digestive problems as well as infection of the kidney and gallbladder problems," he noted.

Prof Mahbubur further said that the government should increase awareness among the owners and staff of the hotels and restaurants so that they do not reuse the same oil several times.

"Along with raising awareness among people, the government should punish those who use unhygienic edible oil in cooking," he added.