Abstract

Shalini Sehgal^1*, Tanya L. Swer², Akshay Bhalla¹ and N. Chandrakanth⁴

DOI : http://dx.doi.org/10.13005/ojc/370305

The present study investigates the cooking practices and oil used in small and medium sized street food vendors/ kiosks in the west zone of Delhi, India. A survey was conducted to collect information on vendor cooking practices and oil quality was analyzed using different physio-chemical parameters. The study revealed that the oil samples collected from the participating vendors displayed varied values of % FFA (free fatty acid) content (0.16±0.00 to 0.60±0.01), acid value (0.225±0.00 to 1.030±0.01), peroxide values (9.12±0.02 to 32.45±0.49) and iodine value (61.57±0.19 to 79.08±0.07) indicating poor quality of the oils used for the preparation of snacks. Study revealed that the majority of the vendors re-use oils and practice adulteration with hydrogenated fats which can significantly deteriorate the quality of oil and henceforth the health of the consumers.

Fats Oils; Indian Snacks; Oil Usage Practices; Physico-Chemical Properties; Quality of Oils; Street Foods;

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