New weapon against the use of swill oil

Shanghai food safety inspectors are now equipped with a German testing device that can help them discover cooking oil recycled from swill oil.

The Shanghai Food and Drug Administration said its inspectors in Xuhui and Changning districts are already using this high-tech gadget in daily work.

It rules that restaurants must stop using oil that has been cooked three times and must hand it to licensed collectors for disposal. But some restaurants still use overcooked oil to cut costs.

"The German device is very efficient in picking out oil cooked more than three times by comparing it against benchmark ingredients," said an FDA official.

Food safety inspectors are also banning the sales of bulk food oil and will eliminate it by the end of March. The move is prompted by a spate of gutter oil cases. A FDA survey shows that about 20 to 30 percent of small restaurants used bulk oil before the campaign. Bulk oil leaves loopholes for food safety control.