Oil is a must-have in the kitchen. It is also essential for human health. Common people use mustard, soybean, sunflower and other oils in the kitchen. There is always a question about the quality of the oil consumed by the common people every day - what kind of oil are we consuming? Experts are of the opinion that the lack of proper management and distribution process has raised questions about the quality of edible oil rather than adulteration.

  Although most of the oil produced by the

industry is of high quality, the producers claim that it is unfit to eat due to improper storage process, adulteration, etc. when it reaches the retail store through dealers and distributors. Edited part of the views expressed by the stakeholders in the 'round table' organized by Kantipur Dainik last Monday with the aim of spreading awareness about the quality of oil:

Let's go back to traditional food

dr. Anil Bhattarai, cardiologist

There has been a lot of research on the relationship between the quality of cooking oil and heart health. There are not many researches in Nepal, that's why not much is known. 

There are three types of fat—saturated, unsaturated, and trans fat. Among them, the ones that are bad for health are saturated and trans fats. Saturated fat is especially found in animal fats. For example, milk products. Trans fats include fried and fried foods. It is directly and indirectly affecting our heart.

because they increase LDL cholesterol in our body. It is considered harmful for blood vessels and heart. After the bad cholesterol increases, it lowers the good cholesterol ie HDL (High Density Lipid). Unsaturated fats are also of two types – monounsaturated and polyunsaturated. Among them, oils made from olives, avocados and nuts are considered to be beneficial for health.

We rely heavily on animal fats. In this, our unsaturated fat habit is settled. Balance is because we eat antioxidants, vegetables fruits, less meat. But now there is a trend of eating unsaturated. Transfat was also added to it. Because of that, the way of eating has become more unhealthy lately. 

Pizza is not considered junk food in Italy. But to us, pizza is junk food. Because how we do it matters. They eat olive oil with every meal. We don't have that custom. It is coming slowly.

Every person is responsible for his own health. Only then others are responsible. It is important to discuss at least what unsaturated fat is in our diet and how it is unhealthy. Then quality control should be done on the rest. Bad oil causes heart problems. 

Whenever we perform heart surgery, we find that the history of those patients consumes a lot of meat, eats a lot of red meat, eats a lot of fried and fried foods. Corner heart disease is seen in heart surgery patients. They should eat more meat ie saturated fat and trans fat. South Indians are vegetarians. They are 80 percent vegetarian. They have a lot of corner heart disease. The cause is sugar and transfats. They eat a lot of fried and fried foods. Let's get rid of these things as much as possible and return to the old traditional diet. 

Oil is essential for the body. Our body consumes the most carbohydrates and calories. Oil is very essential for the body's regular functions. There are some people who are greedy and do not eat oil at all. Sometimes, if you are sick, you should not eat salt at all, rather than eating less salt. And when he comes to check, the doctor says that he has not eaten salt for three months. They again appear to be low in sodium. At first we used to make meat jhol and eat it. Gradually, our habit has increased towards eating it. We went to the meat barbecue. These various reasons have led to health problems.

Mismatch in distribution and storage process can lead to quality degradation

- Somkant Rizal, Deputy Director General 

Department of Food Technology and Quality Control

Oil is not a poison, but an essential nutrient that the body needs. Our body cannot be healthy without oil. Ghee-oil is needed for nutrition and should be eaten. 

How much oil to eat is important. Science says to eat anything according to dosage. It is beneficial for the body if it is eaten in combination, if it is overdosed it is harmful. Even the milk we eat becomes poison if we eat too much of it. Using oil that has been used for frying once over and over again runs the risk of becoming transfats. It has also been seen in the monitoring. Oil has been used repeatedly. Even if the producer produces good oil, it is made unfit for consumption by repeated use during use. 

edible oil in the market can be judged in two ways. One, the regulation of adulteration of oil by industrialists. For example, there is a complaint of adulteration of cheap oil with expensive oil. Also, the oil will spoil if it is left alone. No food item is stable. Deteriorates after a certain period of time.

If the distribution and storage process of oil is not coordinated, the quality may also decrease. The industrialist has made adulteration with the intention of cheating. On the other hand, the quality of the oil is not good due to poor packaging and storage. The distribution and storage system needs to be good. Due to the environment, the quality also decreases.

Oil used to be highly adulterated in the past. Looking at the data from 15/20 years ago, we have found many adulteration of one oil with another oil. It cannot be said that it is not even now. There are some cases of adulteration. But less than in the past. We collected 45 oil samples in the first quarter of the current financial year. 6 have been found to be in good condition. 

Right now, rather than adulteration, proper management (transportation and storage) and distribution is a problem. The topic of PV also comes up. In the monitoring (oil) conducted by the Kathmandu Metropolitan City, the AV value was higher. In fact, the handling of problems with AV and PV values ​​was not good. The packaging may have been damaged. 

A good oil smells after 15 days in the sun. Not to be eaten. The sun oxidizes the oil. Chemicals are unstable. Monitoring the market shows problems in sunflower, soybeans. Because its well 

is not handled, oxidizes. As the oil oxidizes, the peroxide value increases. Acid value increases. Looking at this issue, the government has set the standards for refined oil. Peroxide value should not exceed 10 as per standard. Acid value should not exceed 0.5. Do not eat that oil as soon as it exceeds the standard set by the government. 

Citizens' distrust towards the state is increasing recently. The role of the state should be to eradicate it. However, we have worked to the best of our ability and resources. We have got the responsibility to make the common people happy by working on food security. We are trying to fulfill our obligations. 

Expired goods are not visible where people are aware. But there is a shortage of such goods in villages, hills and remote areas. In the case of exceeding the deadline, there is the method of sending to villages and mountains. Industrialists should be aware of this. The market cannot be cleaned by government agencies alone. Citizens should also be aware.

If in doubt, we will test for free

- Rajan Paudel 

Director General, Department of Commercial Supply and

Consumer Protection

We are carefully working on how to regulate the supply of oil. During Dasain-Tihar, most of the oil is in short supply, at which time facilitating the supply is challenging. We have collected samples about oil quality and sent them to food technology. Any oil sample collected shall be tested by commerce. If the general public suspects any oil, the department helps for testing. We are also interested in the issue of oil quality. We also look at pricing. We ask for the price every month from the Oil Producers Association. In the past, the price of oil had risen to 2600 rupees. It came down to 1800 rupees. Now it has increased again to 2300 rupees. 

Section 21 of the Consumer Protection Act, 2075 allows any manufacturer to set the retail price. Setting the maximum price can save raw materials, administrative expenses, revenue and a small profit. On this basis, the department is looking into how to facilitate the supply and determine the price. 

We can't say that the oil is of poor quality only in the distribution process. All parts may have some weakness. In recent days, labs have been installed to measure the quality of oil. Apart from government, there are 8 private labs. There was no need to go to food for testing. Other labs recognized by the government have also opened. There can also be tests. As soon as the quality is tested by the regulatory body, the businessmen become aware. Consumers have also become somewhat aware. Because they are aware, they have questioned the quality. But there is still dissatisfaction with the work done by the department. 

In countries that have gone to federalism, monitoring by the union at all levels is not possible. We have three tiers of government. In this sense, the Local Government Operation Act, 2074 has given the right to monitor the local government under the coordination of the deputy mayor or vice president. Based on that, they can also monitor. But the Vice President is not in a position to take action against the small grocers there. Politically as well. That is why the department has delegated the authority of market monitoring to every local level administrative officer. 

Since it is a topic related to health, let's be careful in using it

- Madhav Timalsina 

President, Consumer Rights Research Forum 

Article 44 of the Constitution of Nepal has given every consumer the right to use quality goods and services. But the role of any body has not been effective in implementing it. 

Consumers fear that the oil in my kitchen is not a weak poison? In hotels, restaurants, party palaces, fast food and other places, it has become common to cook in the same oil again and again. Because heart disease has increased. Oil can be a factor in this.

As long as the role of the state in making our producers responsible and raising awareness among citizens is weak, serious questions have been raised about the quality of food. Not to mention all of them, the quality of most of them is seriously questionable. The quality of the product is determined by the price. He has been able to keep his quality stable, if not adulterated. But it doesn't seem like 'fair' work has been done like this everywhere. We are totally dependent on third countries. We have imported various oils. What kind of oil have we imported? This is a serious matter. 

We have easily certified the products that have been recognized somewhere and are allowing them to be brought to Nepal. This process needs to be improved. It includes not only the role of the department, but also the role of the federal, state and local levels because local industries are operating at the local level. Some of those industries have not even come to the legal process. 

No one can personally check the quality of oil by taking it to a lab. Where did people get here? what do you do From revenue to the process of testing food samples, the law has set limits. I'm unable to get a report on an oil when I'm on the way. 

There was a lot of discussion about the increase in prices in our country. The issue of quality is purely a technical issue. As this is a matter related to the future of common citizens, we must regulate it in terms of quality. Rather than how much oil we eat, what is the quality of the oil we eat? Rather than which brand, which oil is good/bad, which has no adulteration, etc., we have to take care. The Department of Food Technology and Quality Control should inform about adulteration of essential ingredients in the market from time to time. If the item is fine, it should be fixed and if it needs to be improved, it should be notified through various social networks. If the quality is not good, the state should boycott it. There is a Consumer Protection Act but it does not seem to be implemented effectively.

How much to use, must pay attention

- Supriya Bhattarai, nutritionist

Food contains macro and micronutrients. Our bodies need a lot of macros, which include carbohydrates, proteins and fats. Along with this comes the matter of calories. Every moment we work, the body is burning calories. Micronutrients provide most of the calories. Oil contains calories. Carbohydrates are provided by rice. 

There have been many studies about the oils we use. Now the question of which oil to eat and which not to eat is important. Now I also come to me saying 'I don't eat oil, I only eat ghee'. Ghee also contains saturated fat. It has 20 percent 'profit'. That's why quantity becomes so important. Many people ask me what oil to use. Here quality also comes together. We are saying - eat this oil, don't eat that. But what to eat is a matter of your choice but how much is important. Even if you eat good oil, it will not do you any good if you eat too much. 

Our Nepali cooking style has more of a tendency to sneeze. Olive oil is considered good for this. I looked at a study. In that study, it is written that 500 ml of oil should be used in a month. This  How is

possible in us? So be careful what food you are cooking.  If you are having a

party, use refined oil. If eating salad, use olive oil. There are also those who use coconut oil. Eating deep fried foods every day can damage your heart. 

The method I have been using myself is 'rotation of oil'. I change the oil I am using every three months. Mustard oil is always there as we have been using mustard oil since childhood. Mustard oil contains an acid, which is not allowed to be used in America and Europe. We have been using mustard oil here for a long time. The advantage of mustard oil is that it can be used for frying and frying. I used mustard for three months and then refined oil for another month. I'm fat now, if not healthy I use olive oil. 

Transfats are not good for health. What to do now? As much as possible, it is better not to eat foods that are fried in oil. Avoid fried and fried food while eating out. Not by eating food cooked in used oil outside and managing healthy food at home.

We have not compromised on quality

- Vikas Dugad

President, Nepal Vanastha Ghiutel  Producers Association

The edible oil produced by us is of international standard. Food Technology and Quality Control Department inspects when we bring raw materials. There is also a test at customs. After import, industrialists refine it. Before sending the oil to the market, we get the oil tested in the food industry. So our product is like oil produced in the international market. 

We have not made an agreement during oil production. We have kept oil production equipment with new technology. We have never compromised on quality, nor will we. After the oil is produced by industry, the peroxide value of the oil is less than 1 percent. The most important of these is storage. Do not store in the sun. Should be stored in a dry place. We mention that on every packing. 

Peroxide value does not increase for 9 months if stored properly. We send the product only after testing it by food technology. Our machine is also of international standard. How we ship to market and how we store it plays a key role. That's why we put informative information in every packet. Looking at that, all the friends associated with the association have been producing quality oil. When importing crude oil from the international market, it is cleared by customs only after testing.