USED COOKING OIL - (UCO) CHECK BY BUYOFUEL

With the Indian crowd starting to eat out more often and our natural inclination towards calorie-filled and deep-fried meals, the cooking oil consumption has soared exponentially in the past few years.

We are eating a slice of danger each time we consume a meal in a restaurant. Or a cafe or a bakery. We are not talking about how hygienic the kitchen is or how many unnecessary calories we are consuming. When we say a slice of danger, we mean the oil used in our food. It may be adulterated used cooking oil which is unsuitable for human consumption. 

We Indians consume about 27 million MT of cooking oil annually. And 70% of our consumption is imported which currently makes us the largest importer of cooking oil in the world. 

Once cooking oil is used up to the recommended 2 or 3 times, where does it go? Well, it is supposed to make its way to biodiesel manufacturing. But the truth is, the biodiesel sector receives less than 1% of used cooking oil. That indicates that almost all of it is reused as cooking oil.

Used cooking oil either adulterates fresh oil and is passed off as refined cooking oil or is reused in smaller restaurants and roadside food stalls. Consumption of it causes serious health risks including Alzheimer’s and cancer. It puts public health in a dangerous position without us realizing it. 

The power of community is magnificent. And we have found a way to use the power of our community towards eradicating adulteration of used cooking oil. We have the system set up and we need your help. 

Our green fuel online marketplace - "Buyofuel" is set to collect used cooking oil and hand it over to biodiesel manufacturers in the country. We need you to initiate conversations around the subject and educate those around you. Your favourite restaurant’s manager or cafe’s owner or snacks’ manufacturer may not be aware of the implications of used cooking oil adulteration or its biodiesel potential. 

Your funds will help us to establish a system on Buyofuel’s website to search for the name of your favourite eatery, check if they have registered to supply used cooking oil on our portal, or prompt them to take a step forward in preserving our public health. Once registered, you can also check their frequency and quantity of used cooking oil contribution and decide if you feel safe enough to dine there the next time.

For a healthier us and healthier future generations, let’s drive the change together, starting today.