RAJSHAHI, Jan 1: Hotels and restaurants including well-known ones in the city and district are using harmful edible oil in cooking food items, causing risk of ulcer and cancer.
According to official sources, the harmful cooking oil is used in 87 per cent hotel and restaurants in Rajshahi City and upazila areas.
Such food shops are increasing day by day, starting from roadsides, making a mushroom growth.
In last November, Safe Food Authority (SFA) conducted a campaign in food hotels and found 87 per cent ones using harmful oil while 13 per cent are using fine oil.
Eating food in these hotels can cause gastric-ulcer and cancer, said health specialists.
According to the SFA, on October 16, along with testing adulterated and low-quality food, a mobile safe food lab was launched to know testing result instantly.
This facilitated consumers to have tested samples of their food items; but in the last one month, no client followed it.
The SFA conducted tests in 16 hotel and restaurants in Godagari and Puthia upazilas. Besides, testing was carried out in 22 hotels and restaurants in the city, by using Oleo Test kit.
Tests found harmful polar materials in 87 per cent oil use including 57.89 per cent most harmful; and 28.95 per cent was found harmful or not fit for consumption.
SFA's Officer Yamin Hossain said, "A total of 38 tests are done here in the lab. But at present, 25 tests are running. The rest ones will start after arrival of kits. We have already tested oil, milk, baking soda and several others. Of these, most harmful material was found in oil."
He further said, "After testing, harmful oil is destroyed instantly. But we are not making fine. We are making people aware about not to do so."
Chief of Medicine Department of Rajshahi Medical College Dr Mahbubur Rahman Khan Badsha said, burnt oil is very harmful; it causes acidity, and ulcer also; and, because of this, it can be stomach cancer, liver and digestion problems. And, then kidney can be affected if such oil is consumed much, also bladder problem, he added.
He further said, public awareness needs to be made so that people stop eating such food.
