Trans Fats in Street Foods-Sources, Health Risks and Alternative Sustainable Strategies

Indian culture is inextricably linked to the consumption of street cuisine. Majority of popular Indian street foods are fried in oil. It is a known fact that the vendors frequently reuse the cooking oil in order to make more profit. The reheating of oils multiple times for frying and cooking purposes leads to a variety of chemical reactions that impact the structural integrity of the oil leading to deterioration in its quality. Some known reactions include oxidative destruction of lipids, formation of reactive oxygen species, and the depletion of natural oxidants. The reuse of fats and oils not only affects their quality but the consumption of food made with them, has serious health implications such as inflammation and hypertension. The negative effects range from the simple oxidative damage to complex ones which includes decline in cellular antioxidant defense mechanism. In this chapter, the role that fats and oils play in a balanced diet as well as their initial significance is highlighted. The numerous chemical processes involved in repeated frying as well as the negative health effects of the heat induced byproducts are discussed. The global and Indian context for regulating these harmful end products is also included.