Repurpose used cooking oil (RUCO) is a project launched by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, Government of India. RUCO aims at monitoring the quality of vegetable oils during frying. During frying, several properties of the oil are altered and Total Polar Compounds(TPC) are formed on repeated frying. The toxicity of these compounds is associated with several diseases such as hypertension, atherosclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease, liver diseases.

From 1 July 2018 onwards, all Food Business Operators (FBOs) are required to monitor the quality of oil during frying by complying with the said regulations.FSSAI is implementing an EEE Strategy – Education, Enforcement,  Ecosystem – to divert Used Cooking Oil from the food value chain and curb current illegal practices.

The EEE Strategy approach ensures good health and welfare for all 130-crore citizens, aiding energy security, climate change mitigation, and leading to environmentally sustainable development.

To achieve the objectives, FSSAI has been registering biodiesel manufacturers and cooking oil aggregators across the country. Aggregators will be responsible for collecting used cooking oil from different FBOs like dhabas, cafes, restaurants, caterers etc. and share it with registered biodiesel manufacturers. This will ensure scientific disposal of the used cooking oil, limiting the harmful impact on the environment and helping India move closer towards its objective of clean and green energy.

For Uttarakhand, SDC has been registered as an official RUCO aggregator and will partner with the Indian Institute of Petroleum, Government of India for its production into biodiesel. SDC will also undertake extensive awareness and education campaigns for FBOs in order to sensitize them and make them adopt healthy and ethical business practices.