McDonald’s India’s Jaipur outlet has received a warning from Indian food safety officials after an inspection found objectionable conditions inside the store. According to a Reuters report, the officials found reused cooking oil unfit for consumption and rotten tomatoes in the storage. They not only took other samples into testing, but also expressed their intent to inspect more outlets in the city.
Earlier this week, in Jaipur, a tourist hotspot in Rajasthan, the fast-food joint outlet was inspected by the government food safety officials. Headed by officer Sushil Chotwani, they found over 40 litres of reused oil actively being used for cooking.
Breaching the food safety norms, the officials then collected samples for further testing, declaring the oil unfit for consumption. While McDonalds India has not issued a formal statement, the store was a franchise by Connaught Plaza Restaurants.
McDonald’s issued warning and 14-days to fix
The food safety official ensured that the outlet was issued a regulatory warning. Further, the outlet was also given 14 days to fix such practices and warned of ‘strict action’, if they failed to do so.
Chotwani also told Reuters that they would inspect more such outlets of the fast-food giant in the city. Responding to this, the North and East India franchise owners responded that they cooperate with the food safety authorities. They revealed that the outlet was “strictly compliant” with their guidelines and followed the “rigorous McDonald’s global standards.”
Officials also reported that non-vegetarian items contained total polar compounds (TPC) levels of 28 per cent, while the oil used for vegetarian preparations recorded an even higher, 31 per cent. TPC, which measures the oil quality and safety, if it crosses the 25 per cent benchmark, can begin generating cancer-causing compounds – Dr Manish Mittal, Chief Medical Health Officer (Jaipur-II), told TOI.
This comes months after officials found objectionable and rotten food at a quick 10-minute cloud kitchen, Zepto Cafe. Visuals shocked the consumers when the officials shared videos of rotten food items, such as cabbage and even packaged goods like bread.
What happens if you consume reused oil?
According to FSSAI and PubMed studies, consuming reused cooking oil can have a direct carcinogenic effect, causing inflammation and even lung damage. With fast food being dense in calories, including saturated fats from fried food and heavy on carbohydrates, cooking in such overused oil raises LDL cholesterol, trans fats, and elevates blood pressure.