Reduce and reuse fat, oil and grease in your food business
How caterers can cut down on fat, oil and grease by reducing use and reusing them where possible.
Reducing the amount of fat, oil and grease you use in your business is the most cost-effective way of dealing with it. It is also the best option for the environment.
How to reduce fat, oil and grease use
One way to reduce the quantities of oils and fats your business uses is to make changes to the menu. Small changes can have a big impact. You might:
- reduce the number of fried items
- pan fry instead of deep frying
- choose to grill, bake, poach or steam food instead of frying or roasting it
Making these changes can help you reduce the oil you use by 40-50% and make cost savings.
Effective use of fats and oil
You should also use fats and oil effectively. You can help prolong the life of fats and oils used in deep frying if you:
- regulate the temperature of fats and oils
- use the minimum amount of oils or fats for safe frying
- keep food as dry as possible
- sieve the frying fat or oil regularly to minimise build-up of food particles
- empty and clean pans regularly (at least once a month)
- replace the proportion of the fats or oils lost each day through use
- take 15 minutes to reach frying temperature to prevent burning in the pan
- reduce the temperature of the oil to 100潞C during quiet periods
Reusing fats and oils safely
You can reuse fats and oils safely with proper controls, particularly where high quantities are used, eg in deep frying.
Certain techniques can help you significantly reduce the amount of fat and oil you dispose of, effectively allowing you to replace the oil every three days with no disposal costs. You can do this by:
- keeping the level of oil low, so a third is used up each day in cooking
- topping up the oil each day
- controlling the cooking temperature at the correct level
- sieving the oil regularly