Changes in Quality of Groundnut and Cottonseed Oils used in Frying

Different edible oils used in frying food, are expected to have some changes in their physical and chemical properties .The objectives of this research were to investigate the changes in the physical and chemical qualities of cottonseed (CS) oil and groundnut (GN) oil used in frying fish and falafel, determine the level of Cu, Cd and Pb and study attitudes and practices done by restaurants and homes during frying process.These objectives were achieved through different methodologies; a questionnaire composed of 20 questions has been designed to 103 and 78 cooks of homes and restaurants, respectively, and depending on questionnaire findings the experiment was designed. The experiment was composed of two types of food (fish and falafel) which were fried separately and continuously in CS and GN oils, for 20 cycles. Samples were taken during frying process at initial/fresh oil, 5th, 10th, 15th and 20th frying cycle number and analyzed for chemical and physical changes.TPC and Cd didn't exceed accepted limits , except for Cu and Pb. Thus, the study recommended that changes in oils found acceptable in terms of quality, except for limits of Pb and Cu it is not safe.