UK OIL J-QUANT® Oil Quality Test Strips

J-QUANT® Oil Quality Test Strips

Cooking oils are a collection of trig glycerides, that in turn are made up of a number of
different fatty acids. Whilst these oils are relatively stable at room temperature, once
heated in the presence of moisture and oxygen, they can degrade quite rapidly. As the oils
start to breakdown, they release a number of by products which, not only have an effect on
the food being cooked, but can also be harmful to the human body.

There a number of visual indicators that can determine the condition of the cooking oil.
Good condition oil will always be clear and have a yellow straw like   appearance. As the oil
breaks down, it will darken, eventually turning dark brown and becoming opaque. Oils also
tend to smoke, foam, thicken and produce a rancid smell as they degrade. However, it is
important to note that these characteristic features differ depending on the type of oil
being used, making it a slightly unreliable way of checking whether cooking oil needs
changing. A quick and convenient way of checking the quality of cooking oil is to measure
the free fatty acid content. The more and more the cooking oil degrades, the higher the
concentration of free fatty acid present within the oil. High levels of free fatty acid can lead
to fried food which is extremely dark in color and rancid tasting. Without being able to
effectively monitor the quality of your cooking oil, restaurants can loose thousands in
cooking oil replacements, when they are not needed, or in lost revenue when food is spoilt.
 

Application
The J-QUANT® Oil Quality Test Strips 0-2.5% and 0-6% are an easy way to semi quantitatively
measure the free fatty acid con-tent of cooking oil. They require no resampling
and can be used directly in the cooking oil whilst hot.
Indications
 An indication of 2% free fatty acid in cooking oil shows that the break-down process
has begun.
 An indication of 4% free fatty acid means that the quality of breaded foods such as
chicken and fish should be checked. The oil should be discarded if unacceptable.
 An indication of 6% free fatty acid means that the quality of all other fried (battered)
foods including chicken, fish and chips/fries should be checked. The oil should be
discarded if unacceptable.
 If an extremely bright yellow color is observed, then this indicates that the free fatty
acid level is much higher than 6% and the oil should be discarded immediately.
 If a clearly indication of free fatty acid build up below 2% is needed then the lower
level J-QUANT® Oil 2.5 test strip is available.