Safety Evaluation of Oil Samples Collected from Different Food Points of Multan City of Pakistan

Cooking oil has become a part and parcel of modern food system and therefore its safety is of prime significance for health agencies around the globe to ensure good health among the community. Current study was designed to investigate the physicochemical properties including free fatty acids, peroxide value and conjugated dienes; minerals (nickel & cobalt) and heavy metals (lead and cadmium) in oil samples collected from different areas of Multan city of Pakistan. The findings of this study revealed that free fatty acid percentages, conjugated dienes, cobalt and nickel concentrations were in normal ranges while the peroxide values, lead and cadmium concentrations were recorded above the norms. Strict regulatory measures need to be adopted to ensure good quality oil supply and to protect the people from health implications of physicochemical and metallic hazards prevailing in fried oils and fried foods.