A prominent article in The Telegraph newspaper reported: “Martin Grootveld, a professor of bioanalytical chemistry and chemical pathology, said that his research showed “a typical meal of fish and chips”, fried in vegetable oil contained as much as 100 to 200 times more toxic aldehydes than the safe daily limit set by the World Health Organisation.”
This is the most recent of several articles in prominent publications quoting experts giving cause for concern using vegetable oil and promoting the use of olive oil.
As a producer of cold pressed rapeseed oil, married to an agriculturist involved in the production of rapeseed amongst other foodstuffs, I am fully supportive of gaining better understanding of the benefits or indeed risks of the food we produce and how we consume it.
I am concerned that some reports in reputable news publications are sensationalised and use scaremonger tactics and are potentially influenced by large PR budgets of interested parties.
My own interpretation of very many scientific articles and which I would suggest most people would already understand is that:
It is advisable that deep fried food is consumed occasionally rather than regularly
Oil degrades after use and all chefs understand and adhere to strict guidelines of when to discard
Saturated fat can cause heart problems when consumed excessively
It is advisable to have a balanced diet with fresh ingredients produced responsibly
From the perspective of research information on rapeseed oil I would recommend the website: http://rapeseedoilbenefits.hgca.com/ and from personal experience our cold pressed rapeseed oil does not denature when used for cooking at high temperatures. The plant based omega 3, 6 and 9 fatty acids found naturally in rapeseed oil that are understood to be beneficial from some scientific research are transferred in significant proportion to food when cooked with our oil. This was evidenced when we sent potato crisps cooked in our oil for independent testing.
Author: Angie Curwen, Managing Director, AMC Foods Ltd, producers of Kentish Oils, Kent Crisps & The British Oil & Relish Co product ranges.
