Tag Archives: oil

Susanne Kuehne, Decernis
Food Fraud Quick Bites

Crisp, But Not Clean

By Susanne Kuehne
No Comments
Susanne Kuehne, Decernis
Palm Oil, Food Fraud
Find records of fraud such as those discussed in this column and more in the Food Fraud Database, owned and operated by Decernis, a Food Safety Tech advertiser. Image credit: Susanne Kuehne

An especially perfidious type of edible oil fraud is the dissolution of inedible plastic material, such as polypropylene or polyethylene packaging material, in hot cooking oil during the frying process. This is supposed to prolong the shelf life and the crispness of deep-fried snack food, not surprisingly with serious health implications. Attenuated total reflectance fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) in combination with principal component analysis (PCA) provides a straightforward method to analyze samples directly with minimal preparation, to detect polymers in palm cooking oil, as done in this study.

Resource

  1. Ismail, D. et al. (2021). “Classification Model for Detection and Discrimination of inedible Plastic adulterated Palm Cooking Oil using ATR-FTIR Spectroscopy combined with Principal Component Analysis”. Vol 25 No 3. Malaysian Journal of Analytical Sciences (MJAS).
Susanne Kuehne, Decernis
Food Fraud Quick Bites

Oil Crisis, The 2019 Version

By Susanne Kuehne
No Comments
Susanne Kuehne, Decernis
Food fraud
Find records of fraud such as those discussed in this column and more in the Food Fraud Database.
Image credit: Susanne Kuehne.

In many parts of India, mustard oil is widely consumed as an edible oil and for ceremonial use, and is a target for adulterations for economic gain. In a test of 20 samples, 80% of the samples were adulterated. Adulterants, some of them hazardous to human health, often consist of cheaper oils such as palm or sesame seed oil, as well as added dyes or flavor components. Tests were made using TLC Chromatography, nitric acid test, azo dye test and other test methods.

Resource

Pandey, P., Mishra, M. and Kesharwani, L. (October 6, 2019). “Examination of Various Adulterants in non-branded Mustard Oil for Forensic Considerations”. Academic Journal of Forensic Science.