China Using Gutter Oil

China has a known problem with counterfeit cooking oil made illegally by gangs.

China using gutter oil.

China has cracked down on food safety in recent years after a series of scandals including the use of recycled gutter oil cooking oil that has been recycled from sources such as restaurant waste. China lacks standards to detect reprocessed gutter oil and classify waste food recycling. Therefore distinguishing legitimate cooking oil and reprocessed gutter oil is difficult. Dìgōu yóu or 餿水油.

Not just inferior cooking oil relabelled as well regarded brands but made from waste oil and rotting animal parts. It is also sometimes used to bulk out lard products before being used in processed foods as well the courts vowing to dole out the death penalty to the worst offenders this year the chinese have renewed national campaigns to stamp out the practice among restauranteurs and street food vendors. Reprocessed gutter oil involves the use of alkali additives to reduce the abnormal ph caused by high rates of animal fats and bleach to convert the dark colour to clear. The use of gutter oil is often common in sichuan style dishes where vast quantities of chilli oil are used.

Although gutter oil is illegal it is said to be pretty common in china. Sōushuǐ yóu is a general term for oil that has been recycled it can be used to describe the practice of restaurants re using cooking oil that has already been fried before. It is perfectly legal to use gutter oil to make cosmetics soaps lotions and pharmaceuticals in china. This is generally known as gutter oil chinese pinyin dìgōu yóu simplified characters 地沟油 traditional characters 地溝油.

This disgusting practice is done by unscrupulous individuals in the country as a way of selling cheaper oil to consumers. It can also be used to describe the processing of waste oil collected from sources such as restaurant fryers grease traps slaughterhouse waste and. Including products which are exported overseas to us.