The Karnataka government is planning to introduce a new digital system that will stop repeated use of cooking oil in hotels and restaurants. The Food Safety Department has developed a mobile application for tracking the purchase, usage, and disposal of cooking oil across food establishments.
The new system will be rolled out in three months' time. Through the application, authorities will track cooking oil from when hotels buy it to when used oil is handed over to authorised collection agencies.
The initiative aims to prevent hotels from reusing cooking oil multiple times, which can lead to food quality problems and health risks for consumers.
Government Plans Digital Monitoring of Used Cooking Oil
Under the proposed system hotels and restaurants will have to keep digital records of cooking oil purchases and used oil disposal.
The app will track how much fresh cooking oil establishments buy, how much oil is used, and where the discarded oil is moved.
The move follows complaints that used cooking oil collected from hotels is being illegally sold to smaller eateries (where it may be reused for cooking).
To prevent such practices, the government plans to make it mandatory for hotels to hand over used cooking oil to authorised collection agencies.
Registration Mandatory for Hotels and Oil Collection Agencies
The digital platform envisaged will bring cooking oil manufacturers, hotel owners and authorised collection agencies under a common registration system.
The registration process is expected to enable authorities to keep records of the entire cooking oil supply chain.
Hotels will have to record purchases of oil and transfer only used cooking oil to registered agencies. A digital tracking mechanism will also help officials check whether discarded oil is diverted for unauthorised food purposes.
Used Cooking Oil to Be Recycled for Industrial Purposes
Instead of being reused for cooking, the used cooking oil collected can be diverted to approved industrial use.
These include soap manufacture, biodiesel and other industrial products.
The proposed system is designed to ensure that used cooking oil goes into authorised recycling channels instead of being returned to the food supply chain.
Bengaluru, Mysuru, Mangaluru and Hubballi to Get Pilot Project
The Karnataka government plans to introduce a digital tracking system in four cities on a pilot basis first.
The first phase will cover:
- Bengaluru
- Mysuru
- Mangaluru
- Hubballi
After the pilot implementation, authorities may look at expanding it to other parts of Karnataka.
The government is also looking at extending the used cooking oil collection to commercial establishments in the future.
Government Considers Used Cooking Oil Collection From Households
In the next phase, authorities are considering whether to collect used cooking oil from households as well.
If implemented, the initiative could expand collection networks for discarded cooking oil and encourage households to dispose of it through authorised channels.
With the proposed mobile application, Karnataka intends to monitor food safety better, prevent illegal resale of used cooking oil, and improve the recycling process. The system will bring greater transparency in cooking oil management across hotels and restaurants.
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