Lab creation urged to control cooking oil quality

KABUL (Pajhwok): A medical expert called the excessive use of cooking oils harmful to health, recommending the consumption of a certain amount of it on a daily basis.

The National Food and Drug Authority (NFDA) recently announced the seizure of hundreds of tonnes of carcinogenic cooking oils.

A healthy person needs 70 grams of oil daily, with the excessive use of it and high-fat food causing weight gain, heart issues, hyperlipidemia (high blood lipids), narrowing of blood vessels and increased sugar.

Doctors: Avoid high-fat foods

Dr. Sayed Farid Shah Rafiee, a specialist of internal medicine serving for about 16 years at the Wazir Akbar Khan Hospital, told Pajhwok Afghan News: “Cooking oil is key to human body. The body needs oil, oil help grow the organs, rise metabolism, body temperature, boosting immune system, effective in absorbing vitamins.”

But he stressed that excessive use of oils must be prevented, because eating too much oil could cause that a person suffer from heart disease, high blood fat, narrowing of arteries, sugar and weight gain.

He said the amount of oil needed by people according to their age, weight and the body health, but in general, healthy people needed 70 grams of oil daily.

The expert emphasised on people to use vegetable liquid oils, which were less harmful.

About the use of vegetable liquid oil, he said: “In general, if consumed excessively, oils can pose risks. Liquid or solid, they are very harmful.”

He stressed the need for setting up an authority to approve the quality of food items and medicine. Currently, the Norms and Standards Authority is doing the job.

A special lab must be set up to control the quality of cooking oil, he stressed, urging people to be careful when purchasing the cooking oil and check its quality.

An article was released on an internet page titled “Is the consumption of cooking oil harmful to health?”

The article reads: “In addition to increased risk of cardiovascular disease, the high consumption of fats in daily diet also causes weight gain, obesity and other ailments.”

Hassamuddin, a shopkeeper in the Tahia-i-Maskan area of Kabul, said different types of liquid and solid ghee were imported from different countries, especially from Malaysia, Dubai and Pakistan. They are sold in the market.

The shopkeeper said he did not know anything about the quality of oil. It would be better if the oil was manufactured domestically, he believed.

Citizens urge control of oil quality

Shahabuddin, a resident of Kabul, said all kinds of oil were sold in the market and people [referred to buy cheaper varieties due to economic constraints.

“We always hear about low-quality oil entering the country, which is very harmful to human health.  We want the government to control the quality of cooking oil.”

Meanwhile, Musa Amiri, another resident, said: “There are many types of oils. We use Super-Al-Naweed oil at home, because it is harmless and recommended to us by a doctor.” He also called for the control of oil quality.

Seizure of carcinogenic oil

Dr. Javed Hajir, spokesman for the National Food and Drug Authority, told Pajhwok they aimed to better regulate food, drugs and other products to ensure such items were compliant with national and international standards.

He explained one key duty of the authority was to monitor and control the quality of medicine and food items imported into the country.

He informed: “During an operation, 150 tonnes of low-quality oils, worth $320,000 were sezied. Containing carcinogenic substances, the oils entered Afghanistan from Pakistan.”

Hajir warned violators of legal action, including referrals to judicial organs by the 07 Intelligence Directorate and temporary sealing of medical stores and shops of violators.

sa/mud