China eats 3m tons of recycled edible oil each year
- Source: Global Times
- [15:57 March 18 2010]
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Photo:Xinhua
A professor from Wuhan Polytechnic University said the Chinese population annually consumes about 3 million tons of recycled edible oil, which is highly carcinogenic and its toxicity is 100 times stronger than arsenic, the Chongqing Evening News reported Thursday.
Recycled oil refers to edible oil of poor qualities, such as waste oil from restaurants, oil made from animal fats and oil used repeatedly.
The claim is based on an investigation carried out by Professor He Dongping and his students earlier this year in Wuhan, Hubei Province.
Jiang Shan, the group leader of the investigation said the task was revolting and dangerous. They had to find the large containers that held the waste oil and collected it for research. Those who earned money collecting the waste oil would often threaten the students by showing their fists.
According to the investigation, making recycled edible oil is lucrative, and it is the main reason why many people collect waste oil. The cost of making a ton of recycled oil is 3,000 yuan ($439) and it is sold to restaurants at half of the edible oil market price.
Some people who are in the recycled oil business told the students that one can earn over 10,000 yuan ($1,464) a month by selling recycled edible oil to restaurants and vendors.
However, medical research has found that eating this recycled oil for a long period of time will cause severe damage to people's heart, liver and kidney and may also lead to developmental disabilities in children.
