Cooking oil has been getting a lot of lime light recently. One of the reasons was because of the sales of recycled cooking oil.
Recycled cooking oil is obtained by filtering and bleaching used cooking oil. It is very difficult to differentiate between recycled cooking oil and unused oil. In this case, looks can indeed be deceiving.
Since the oil has been used, one cannot determine the food that was cooked in that oil. This creates contention from the religious perspective.
The used oil is collected and then processed, filtered and bleached. Filtration removes physical objects and bleaching gives it a clear colour.
These oils have a lower boiling point, necessitating longer cooking times. When food is cooked for extended periods, it tends to absorb more oil and hence becomes unhealthy.
Secondly, frequent consumption of recycled cooking oil can cause serious health issues.
Apart from the damages to health, there is also the issue of halal. The consumption of such oils would not be halal anymore if the same oil was used to cook porcine based dishes.
Given the harmful properties of recycled cooking oil, there should be serious consideration from the buyers prior to making a purchase . Then comes the question of selling harmful substances.
A Muslim cannot knowingly sell deleterious products. There is a responsibility from a Muslim towards the society.
The buyers might be compelled to buy recycled cooking oil due to financial constraints, but the long term damages cannot be justified. Others might choose recycled cooking oil to increase profits.
Recycled cooking oil is often used by restaurants and food stalls to prepare food. Because of its cheap price, operating costs can be reduced and profits increased. Thus people who often eat out, should enquire about the preparation of their food.
The concept of halal is not only in the preparation of food and the ingredients contained but also the harm that can be caused.
Halal is a holistic concept that is not limited to food by any means. The consumption of harmful substances is forbidden in Islam and so is the act of mediating it for others.
Would we want to see harm done upon us? If not, then why inflict pain upon others?
At the time of suffering one will appreciate the value of health. When it is too late, that one realises money is not everything.
Rehan Ahmad Bin Jamaluddin Ahmad
Research Fellow, Insitut Kajian Strategik Islam Malaysia (IKSIM)
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the official views of, and should not be attributed to, Isma or Ismaweb.
The irresponsible and selfish government has deliberately increased the price of cooking oil so ordinary people are forced to buy recycled cooking oil thus exposing them to long term damages.
The government doesn’t give a damn about the long term damages, man-made inflation nor the welfare of ordinary people who are being oppressed by man-made inflation. All of the grand promises the BN leaders have made in their campaign speeches turn out to be nothing but lip service.
It seems to me that the government become a trading company whose objective is maximizing or pursuing profit at the expense of ordinary people. The leaders of government are only interested in taxes and profit not the welfare of the people who have voted them into the government.
It seem to us that the kafir, secular and liberal political parties have failed to defend the rights of ordinary people and they don’t care about the welfare of ordinary people because they are being supported and paid by CIA and its proxies who are not interested in the welfare of ordinary people but the interest of the US government .
It is unfair to ask ordinary people to suffer and pay for the grand mistakes etc done by the incompetent leaders of the government. They should resign for their own mistakes and let competent leaders to solve all the problems, debts etc !
Therefore, we the Muslims must vote Islamic leaders of the Islamic party PAS into the government in the coming general election so that they can establish an Islamic government to defend the rights of the people because secularism and liberalism have failed completely !
CORRECTION:
It is unfair to ask ordinary people to suffer and pay for the grand mistakes etc done by the incompetent leaders of the government. They should resign for their own mistakes and let competent leaders solve all the problems, debts etc ! Why are the incompetent leaders so scared to resign?
Indeed, it’s harmful. But the issue shows how dependent Malaysians are on cooking oil. And it’s not even a staple like rice, but hoarding it like there’s no tomorrow.
Let’s be more proactive as consumers; reduce oil in food and we will b healthier. Oil is a fat and a little goes a long way.
Contrary to popular believe and misconception, based on scientific studies and publications, palm oil has been proven to have no effect at all on serum cholesterol level. Its saturated fat – C16 Palmitic fatty acid does not increase total serum cholesterol level.
1. Palm oil is made up of 50% unsaturated fats. It is not totally saturated and the saturated fatty acids present are palmitic (90%) and stearic (10%). Stearic acid does not elevate blood cholesterol, and palmitic acid does not raise blood cholesterol level in people whose blood cholesterol level is in normal range (Hayes, 1993; Hayes et al., 1995; Hayes et al., 1991; Khosla and Hayes, 1994; Khosla and Hayes, 1992).
2. The vitamin E, particularly the tocotrienols present in palm oil can suppress the synthesis of cholesterol in the liver (Qureshi et al., 1986). As a consequence, tocotrienols lower blood cholesterol levels (Qureshi et al., 1995; Qureshi et al., 1991a; Qureshi et al., 1991b; Qureshi et al., 1980; McIntosh et al., 1991).
3. The position of the saturated and unsaturated fatty acid chains in a triglyceride backbone of the fat molecule determines whether the fat will elevate cholesterol level in the blood (Kritchevsky, 1996; Kritchevsky, 1995; Kritchevsky, 1988 and Innis et al., 1993). In palm oil, 75% of the unsaturated fatty acid chains are found in position 2 of the carbon atom of the triglyceride backbone molecule (Padley et al., 1986; Ng, 1985; Berger, 1983). This could explain why palm oil is not cholesterol-elevating.
4. It has an anti-clotting effect and prevents the formation of thrombus in the blood vessels. Blood clotting can be induced by injury to the blood vessel wall and the alteration in the aggregating properties of blood platelets. Hornstra (1988) in the Netherlands first demonstrated the palm oil has anti-clotting effect, and is as anti-thrombotic as the highly unsaturated sunflowerseed oil. A human study (Kooyenga et al., 1997 and Tomeo et al., 1995) showed that tocotrienols (from palm oil) supplementation can reduce restenosis of patients with carotid atherosclerosis.
Holub et al. (1989) reported that the vitamin E in palm oil inhibits human platelets from “sticking” to each other. Other supporting evidence showed that a palm oil diet either increases the production of a hormone that prevents blood-clotting (prostacyclin) or decreases the formation of a blood-clotting hormone (thromboxane) (Sugano and Imaizumi, 1991; Sundram et al., 1990; Rand et al. 1988; Abeywardena et al., 1989; Charnock et al. 1989; Ng et al., 1992). Thus scientific evidence indicates that the palm oil diet is as anti-thrombotic as one based on polyunsaturated oil.
It does not promote the formation of plaques in the arteries. Atherosclerosis is the thickening and hardening of the walls of the arteries. Fatty deposits or plaques are made up of mainly fats and cholesterol. Atherosclerosis results in the narrowing of the lumen of the arteries, thus inhibiting the flow of blood. By feeding diets high in cholesterol along with certain saturated fats such milk fat, tallow and coconut oil, atherosclerosis can be produced in animals such as rabbits, quail, pigs and monkeys. A Netherlands study was conducted on rabbits to test the effect of palm oil on atherosclerosis (Hornstra, 1988). After feeding the rabbits for 11/2 years, palm oil and sunflower oil diets caused the lowest degree of atherosclerosis in comparison with fish oil, linseed oil and olive oil. Similarly Kurfeld et al. (1990) in the United States, also using the rabbit model, compared the effects of palm oil with hydrogenated coconut oil, cottonseed oil, hydrogenated cottonseed oil, and an American fat blend containing a mixture of butterfat, tallow, lard, shortening, salad oil, peanut oil and corn oil. At the end of the 14-month feeding period, coconut oil fed rabbits had the most atherosclerotic lesions, while in palm oil-fed rabbits the number of lesions was no different from that with the other oils.
Reference:
http://www.epic4health.com/paloilandcor.html
Recycled cooking oil is dangerous to our health so the government MUST ban recycled cooking oil. The government must always inspect cooking oil in the market to determine its quality. Why must citizens pay taxes if a government has failed to serve and protect people?